Shadows In the Sky
by Niveus
Summary: CH20 In Memory: It has been the last resting place for many demons and may be for the Reikai Tantei as well as the battle against the demon lord Kawaakari reaches its climax. R&R HieiOC KuramaXBotan
1. Found You

Chapter 01 - Found You  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_It's said that you've forgotten all the painful memories…  
In exchange for the new good ones you're trying to create…  
Yet, they're still not gone because something is missing…  
Because you can't find the thing you need…  
What if it was right in front of you…?_

* * *

"Kurama!" Hiei growled, "How many times must I threaten your girlfriend to stop leaving her _things _in my room?"

Kurama flushed as Hiei waved the said "things" in front of his face. "Hiei, remember at the time she has just as much right to that room as you and… I-I already told you, she's not my girlfriend…. We're just—"

"Friends? Whatever," Hiei mumbled as he turned away, exiting the red-head's room only after flinging said 'things' into his face.

The blue-haired deity of death had been staying at Kurama's house for a week now at the same time that Hiei happened to need a hideout. She had effectively taken over the guest room, leaving feminine items such as make-up, shopping bags and… other girlish _things_. Honestly, he could hardly believe how messy the woman was.

There was rotten food.

Rotten food near his sleeping area.

Oh yes, undoubtedly this was indeed Botan Land.

He waded into the pigsty through piles of clothes and such just to reach his one little corner at the windowsill. Giving up disentangling his feet from the fourth ensnare he'd come across, he cursed under his breath and leapt over the junk, curling up against the wide, glass window as he got there. It overlooked Kurama's backyard where his mother spent most of the time gardening these days. Right now, though it was empty, still, quiet… just as Hiei liked it.

"Hiei!" sang Kurama's ningen mother, Shiori. "You have a visitor!"

So much for that…

He darted down the stairs, appearing at the entrance hall in a flash to see Shiori talking animatedly with someone on the porch. When the woman glanced about her self, she found Hiei and smiled.

"Ah, here he is," she said to the visitor who stepped inside at the mention.

__

Oh, great.

Hiei thought, his brow slightly twitching at the sight of Kurama's annoying little neighbor, a small boy by the name of Hiroshi. The kid beamed at Hiei and hurried to greet him.

"Hi Hiei! Mom said I could come over to show you my new skateboard! Look, look! See!" the kid jumped up and down as he pointed out the fancy rolling plank. "Come on, I have to show you this trick I learned! It's so cool!"

Hiei groaned, receiving one of those signature disapproving looks from Shiori—meaning that he'd have to suffer another afternoon of bothersome _idol_ duty.

The kid rolled back and forth on the rollie plank, falling and laughing. Hiei was so bored that he didn't notice a pair of golden eyes watching him…

Luckily, Hiroshi didn't get to stay out and play that long—apparently had some family reunion to attend in Kyoto—so Hiei's misery was alleviated after an hour. On the bad side, Botan had returned from another shopping spree, robbing Hiei of the alone time he had so wanted. The girl was stowing brand new junk away in the guest room.

The blue-haired deity of death grinned brightly at him as he stood at the doorway. "Oh, hello, Hiei! You know, you really should go shopping with us sometime! You need to get out more!"

Hiei felt a growl rumbling in the back of his throat.

"I know what you're thinking… But you're wrong! Yusuke and Kuwabara come along too! They don't mind spending the afternoon with us girls!"

Hiei doubted that. Those two were merely the women's servants during the shopping sprees, hauling around twenty bags and boxes, only saying what the girls wanted them to say. Utterly pathetic.

The spirit girl went on trying to convince Hiei otherwise. The fire demon could already feel the anger simmering within.

* * *

Another bad day…

Hiei had a routine argument with the girly Grim Reaper and stormed out of the house, proclaiming that he wouldn't ever return as long as he had to share a room with _that_ creature. And so, he found the park and his favorite tree, one inconspicuous and rarely visited one as the jaganshi had noted. He got comfortable on his usual branch and glared out on the surroundings through the broken foliage.

There were couples enjoying an early evening stroll; they laughed, cuddling together, holding and swinging their arms so merrily. Humans and their _affections_. The fire apparition could barely stand to watch it.

He closed his eyes, shutting out the world as a stubborn attempt for the solitude he desired. He needed no one… Alone was the best way to be…

Slumber almost instantly took him.

That girl was there again, the one that whispered incoherently and appeared as a blurry silhouette most often. Here in these dreams, Hiei was always in a pendulum swing mode where his feelings on the situation went from good to bad, calm to agitated, dreary to sober, masochistic to sadistic. He often tried to take interest in the girl, tried to save her from drowning. There was always that decision: save the girl and risk death or save yourself.

Most times the girl would almost drown; Hiei woke up before it went that far. He would _nearly_ drown with her when he tried to swim to the girl in that gloomy, bleak ocean. Never had he finished the dream; it was always paused at that moment just before suffocation and then rewound for the next time. This dream barely seemed to last a blink…

"UHG!" Hiei groaned as a splintering pain shot through his body, emanating from his Jagan eye.

This was new… but gladly, short-lived. The pain seemed to depart just as quickly as it came, leaving Hiei panting and gasping for breath, his skin glistening with sweat. His fingers dug into the grass (apparently he'd fallen right out of the tree). _What the hell was that? _Before he could try to make sense of the event, a voice called out to him.

"Hey, Hiei! Is that you?" said the laidback voice of Yusuke Urameshi.

Hiei looked up to see the spirit detective with his girlfriend, Kayko Yukimura, both staring down at him with concern. He slowly stood to his feet, his eyes turned cold and hard to make them think twice before asking. "What are you doing here?" he asked scathingly.

"Well, this _is_ a public park, you know. You can't just scare off everyone so you can have it for yourself," Yusuke added jokingly.

"Are you okay? You look a little…" Kayko began timidly before Yusuke used a subtle nudge of the shoulder to stop her. "Ow! What was that for?"

Yusuke ran a hand through his greasy hair, smiling a big, fake grin. "Um… We're all actually going to the dojo for movie night," he said to Hiei, "Are you gonna come? There'll be some of that pizza you like so much… and you can even add fudge to it like before," he added, barely able to keep a straight face through the remark.

Hiei snorted. "No thanks. The last time I went, I had to endure three hours of your earsplitting squeals. Thanks to that ordeal my hearing has reduced."

Yusuke laughed nervously, scratching his head. "Well… that was monster movie night, you know?" he explained. "So, you're sure you don't… I mean, it's not like we all get to see each other as a group that often any—"

"No," Hiei said sternly and walked away from the two. He faintly overheard the couple beginning to squabble—as they often did—but wasn't in the mood to mock the trivial behavior, opting to escape attention.

* * *

Minutes later, he found himself meandering through the darkness, his head lowered. The Jagan eye then glowed strangely as Hiei arrived deep in the forest. The jaganshi halted to a stop, that familiar pain returning to beleaguer his body. The demon clapped his hands to the sides of his head. It felt like his skull was being pounded by Thor's hammers relentlessly from both sides, sending horrible vibes through every nerve.

"What the hell..." he managed to growl as he dropped to his knees. He heard some rustling in the bushes. A strange, reddish, wind came out and swirled around him. It took form of a dragon but it was red with yellow glowing eyes—not something Hiei's Jagan eye could have conjured.

He reached one trembling hand to the hilt of his sword, barely able to feel his fingers curling around the smooth surface. The sword sang out of its sheath, Hiei just able to stand on his feet as he sliced through the red wind to ward it off.

"Don't panic," an icy, female voice said mockingly.

Hiei's free arm held tight to his head, the objects of the area blurring in and out through his broken perception. With an effort, he barked, "What? Who's there?"

There was no response.

"Show yourself!" Hiei demanded, his anger fired up by the pain.

Just as he was about to go tearing through everything in his vicinity, a woman dropped out of the trees like a rock, only she landed softly.

The jaganshi didn't recognize her. She had long, silky, black hair tied back in a yellow bow at her nape. Long bangs hung over the rim of a red headband to frame her emotionless face. A tinge of orange to her golden eyes brought them out like that of a wolf's in the dead of night. She wore a black cat suit with a cropped red t-shirt over it. Twin blades that had silver dragon-head hilts hung at her hips.

Just your every day rose with poisonous thorns.

She remained where she stood, her arms crossed and intimidating gaze watching Hiei expectantly.

The fire demon glared back at her, his chest still heaving from the episode of pain that fortunately withered now. He mumbled raggedly, "Who the hell are you?"

She hesitated, her face an emotionless mask. "Iginaku Tora," she said curtly.

Hiei was slightly surprised to get an immediate answer. He couldn't recall ever seeing her in his lifetime. Perhaps she knew him from a tournament.

Steadying his breathing, he felt that he was teetering between savage rage and a total system collapse. It did not sit well with him.

"I wonder what kind of demon _you_ are?" he inquired sarcastically, referring to the convenient headband. All he could do was try to focus, conceal the miserable condition in case she was looking to fight him.

__

Here's the chance…

"Hmph. Yes, I am a demon—I have powers beyond those you have seen though."

__

Don't resist…

Hiei snorted. "I doubt the Jagan eye varies that much demon to demon."

__

You can fight the darkness… You can find something more.

"I have all I need," Hiei whispered to himself. _So shut up… _

Tora smiled slightly, not catching Hiei's last statement. "Perhaps." Quietly, she slipped her headband off to reveal a red colored third eye, a blood-seeking eye. "I wonder which Jagan produces a fiercer beast? Though it surely must be mine. From what I heard, _you_ were not born with yours."

Hiei simpered, the pain and voices diminished. "You're challenging me. Is that it?" said he, "I doubt you are worthy. Do you often come out of the blue and invite random demons to battle?" Tora shrugged lazily. "Hn. Fine... I accept. You will regret it," he added confidently, eager to alleviate the anger that'd built in him.

He watched as Tora distanced herself and smiled maliciously with anticipation. It'd be fun putting this witch in her place. His headband floated in the wind toward the ocean after he slipped it off, giving him that deadly 30-30 vision. The red dragon he'd assumed belonged to Tora must have returned to her for it was nowhere in sight.

"You ready?" the female demon called.

Hiei nodded.

_Hn. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame should be the appropriate pacifier._

Hiei thought to himself. His power then erupted around him as he kept his eyes on Tora. She hadn't done anything yet. There wasn't a trace of demonic energy around her; perhaps invisible or just incredibly weak. Still, he kept to caution. It wouldn't be fun to obliterate her without even the slightest challenge.

"What's the problem?" he asked with a tentative half smile.

"Nothing—Don't let up on your strength," she warned, having sensed him calming his energy.

He frowned, losing any concern of destroying her too effortlessly—it would be a good lesson for her should she live. _You'll pay for being a fool. _His energy fired up again and the Dragon of the Darkness Flame was ready to be released. "Farewell!" He yelled to her through the gusts of energy spiraling around him, triggering the dark dragon to come roaring out of the ominous swirls.

Tora's jaw went agape. She seemed surprised that so much power had come from him. Her Jagan glowed and the red dragon made itself visible. _What? Her beast had been hiding the whole time? _Hiei thought, his mind embracing shock... Impossible. How could he have not sensed it before!

"This is your end!" she shouted.

Hiei felt Tora's full power now that the dragon was visible once again. The Dragon of the Darkness Flame was already heading for Tora but the crimson dragon had moved in swiftly to protect her. The two dragons collided as the Jagan eyes watched. A blazing light ignited at the point of contact, encompassing the blinded demons with a voluminous blast of white.

After a long pause, the pulse of radiance simmered down, leaving two unharmed jaganshis gazing across at each other in astound awe. Neither of their attacks had reached the other, or so it seemed...

Tora closed her eyes as a droplet of blood trickled down her cheek. "Hmph." She paused, a soft smile on her face. "I suppose I shouldn't have underestimated you... It's just strange to see a demon socialize with... _ningens_." She sighed. "I... I was sent to find you due to recent happenings you've endured. It hasn't been pleasant, has it?"

Hiei stared. "Who sent you?"

"The little guy upstairs," she mumbled as frivolously as her cold voice would allow, obviously not too thrilled about the situation.

The fire demon sweatdropped, his eyes narrowing. "Koenma?" He gritted his teeth, grudgingly pushing aside thoughts of ripping the toddler to shreds and then mumbling, "How much do you know?"

"About your situation?" The jaganshi nodded. Tora closed her eyes, thinking it over. "More than I'd like."

"Hmph, well you obviously didn't come here willingly so why did Spirit World send you?"

"It _is_ a wonder, isn't it?" she muttered longly. "Sending an A-class demon convict in for a benevolent case…"

"You lie."

Her head cocked to one side as she looked at him in question.

The jaganshi glared at the girl. "You're no A-class…" he whispered murderously. If that girl were to insinuate that Hiei's powers were only on par with that level, this forest would have to be her permanent resting place. There's no way a pitiful A-class demon could have nearly mirrored his powers.

"Listen, I don't have time to gab with you all night. To rid yourself of the Oora, you'll have to accompany me to Fukushuugeki, understand?"

"Vaguely. What the hell is an Oora? Or did you mean to say 'aura'?" he asked snidely.

"The name is interchangeable—anyway, you should know _something_ about her. She's in _your _dreams after all."

"Bitch… Just tell me this—how is it you'll be of any help? You didn't exactly tell me why Koenma sent _you_. I should be able to handle anything without the help of lower class wretches."

Tora glared. "I honestly could care less for you too. As for why Koenma chose me, I can't exactly say but I agreed to his proposal because I have personal gain from this." She paused, seeing that the fire demon wasn't going to except that answer. Growling, she added, "I've had experience with Aura's in the past. Satisfied? You'll never be able to deal with the situation on your own with so little knowledge on the Oora species."

The jaganshi took his eyes away, digging in his pocket for an extra white headband. He slipped it around his head and then muttered coolly, "Fukushuugeki. The strange name sounds familiar."

"It should; it's located in the Demon Underworld—Makai on the A-class level."

They went silent at the sound of rustling leaves nearby. The two looked off just in time to spot a hint of shiny red flicker behind the bushes. Tora watched intently as Hiei shook his head. He knew well of eavesdroppers.

"As much as I already hate the company, I'll go with you just to suppress this annoying creature. Is there anything I'll get in return?" the fire demon asked, drawing Tora's attention away from the disturbance.

Tora arched a brow, casting a suspicious eye about the area. "You mean, besides peace from the incessant whining?"

"I suppose that's good enough…"

Tora nodded and turned to withdraw from the open area, staring at where the flash of red had been.

"This way," she called over her shoulder.

Before leaving, he had to pause in front of the bush in question. "Don't even think of following me..." he mumbled out of the corner of his mouth and then proceeded to trail the yasha.

* * *

Thanks for reading and please **REVIEW**! I'd like some feedback. Even it's a few words of encouragement because Hiei will punish me for writing crappily about him otherwise…

Hiei: (glares)

Wolf: (yawns) I'm tired… (collapses from exhaustion)

Hiei: (eyes the marker held in Wolf's hand)


	2. Window to the End

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, a few other OCs and this story! _

Chapter 02 – Window to the End  
Written by: Amber M

EDITS: Well, there's a different scenario that I came up with for this chapter and… it's different, yeah! Now, then… off to revise the 3rd chapter!

* * *

_You're still blocking out the new possibilities…  
Is it because of guilt or fear…?  
Eventually you'll have to choose…  
Or suffer a lonely end… _

* * *

Hiei was certain that he sounded grave enough to ensure that a certain fox youkai wouldn't be lurking in his wake. However…

_From the sounds of it, this will not be as simple as vanquishing a few lower demons with the power of the Jagan… Hiei probably has no idea of what an Aura truly is._ Kurama thought, being sure to distance himself far enough from the two three-eyed demons but it probably didn't help. Both were telepathic after all and Hiei most certainly had read a few of his thoughts by now. So, why then hadn't he come back to scold the red-haired young man? _He wants someone to be aware of the place he's gone to? _Perhaps that was it… At least the cocky demon had learned something over the years… especially since that "hot" incident.

"How are we supposed to get to the Demon Underworld? The portals should've all been blocked after that last tournament…" said Hiei as he easily kept up with Tora's leaping gait.

"You'll know when we get there," Tora replied, leaping through the dense foliage of the darkened trees.

Hiei snorted, not at all pleased with what little information she was leading him on. But she had mentioned Koenma so whatever she did say had to be somewhat legitimate and right now he didn't care what he had to do to get rid of those annoying echoic voices in his head. Even though he had telepathy, it had always been his decision on what voices may enter and which may not but this girl's voice… somehow it had broken those boundaries. Hiei didn't like it. The ranging sound of her voice rising in volume from a low squeak to an excruciatingly high shriek in seconds was literally making him sick.

As her voice shattered his pattern of thought for the first time, in a mid-air leap he fell right out of the sky, collapsing into some thorny bushes. He groaned, clapping his hands to his temples and squeezing his eyes shut.

"Stop it!" he shouted through gritted teeth.

"Hiei?" Tora backtracked to the fallen demon's side and gazed down on him with widened eyes. "Shut her out of your mind…"

Hiei felt a spurt of pain shoot up and down his spine as the screaming continued. He managed to growl, "What do you think I'm trying to do!"

"Try harder!" Tora commanded.

"C… Can't… AHG!"

His heart was pounding; it was sure to explode with the next scream. He felt completely vulnerable, like the slightest sound or touch would result in a colossal amount of pain.

Tora watched in fright, glancing about the area as if hoping to see a spiritual medic appear to aid the spiky-haired demon. _No one's going to come… What did Koenma tell me about this…? _Quickly dismissing further delay, she dropped down next to the trembling demon and gingerly touched a hand to his shoulder. His body jerked briefly but didn't react long to the touch. Tora gulped a lump in her throat and lowered down to his level, wrapping her arms around him, one arm holding to his hair and the other locked over the shoulders to stop his shudders.

Her body illuminated with a soft reddish glow—spiritual energy.

* * *

(Flashback)

_"Just remember—and this is important—should Hiei exhibit behavior that resembles a… seizure—that is, if he suddenly goes rigid or becomes uncontrollably shaky, clammy… You get the picture… Then, you must lend him some of your spiritual energy, Tora. If you don't, he just may lose his mind because these 'seizures' occur only when he's receiving a 'Calling', as we have now dubbed it… Um, do you understand?" said Koenma through his all-important pacifier. _

_Tora furrowed her brows and then replied, "Lend him some of my spiritual energy? How should I do that?" _

_A sweat drop rolled down the toddler's face. "Well, um… er… To lend your particular kind of spiritual energy, well you must… hold him." _

_The female demon tugged at an ear lobe, looking more confused. "Did I… Did I hear you correctly? You didn't just say…" _

_"Yes…. Yes, I did say that in order to lend your particular type of spiritual energy, you must—" _

_"Alright!" Tora growled. "But... I… But what do you mean by 'my particular type of spiritual energy'? Mine is different than others?" _

_Koenma's face scrunched up as he sucked on his pacifier much more audibly. _

_"Er…" _

_"Yes, your spiritual energy IS different… But right now, there isn't time to give you the in-depth details on it. You should go to the Ningenkai and locate Hiei…" _

(End of flashback)

* * *

It really got on Tora's nerves how that pacifier breath just happened to omit the reasoning behind this unusual spiritual exchange. The only time she'd touched any other being was when battling, using attacks which drew blood from the creature not ever giving delicate… _hugs_ and such…

It was actually kind of funny that Hiei, a demon, didn't reek of horrible stenches… His hair was even… soft. A blush forced onto the yasha's face as she noted what good physical condition the fire demon was in.

She didn't seem to have to hold on for long for his quivering eased down, his body temperature was returning to normal, and his breathing was steadying. Tora sighed in relief, still keeping a light grip on him until he was completely leveled again.

_"I want you to make sure that he returns to the Ningenkai alive, Tora…" _

"Alright, I got it, Koenma," Tora growled quietly, even though she was only talking to a memory. She shifted her ear to his back, listening patiently to the beat of his heart. It was beating just fine, normal.

Her face went pallid when she noticed Hiei's head moving, looking about himself.

"What the…?" he muttered. Tora quickly released him and hopped to her feet. The fire demon turned to the panicky yasha, unable to conceal the surprise in his eyes. He shot up to his feet, regaining his chilling composure and crossing his arms. "Tell me, just what do you think you were doing?" he inquired callously.

Tora gave an indignant sniff, turning her golden eyes to a blank spot on the ground. "Nothing… I just had to act in accordance to what Koenma told me…"

"He _told_ you to hold me when I'm unconscious?" Just as he said it aloud, the jaganshi realized that he really was unconscious or rather lost from the world temporarily when those piercing screams exploded into his head. "Alright, you better start talking, witch or I'll have to kill you," he said dangerously.

Tora stuttered, her cheeks still burning with that infernal rosy color. She crossed her arms over her chest, absently tapping a shoulder as she wondered. "I'm a… Fureasei demon… We're a rare breed now after some… army of youkai's murdered a lot of us two thousand years ago…"

"How sad for you but you're avoiding my question—"

"I'm getting to the part involving you, Jaganshi Hiei!" she growled. "Koenma said that my spiritual energy is different…"

"Spiritual energy? But you're a demon, fool," Hiei scolded with a smirk.

Tora closed her eyes—well, that made sense. "You're… right… Can't believe I overlooked that," she muttered to herself. "Somehow, this spiritual energy I have is the only remedial counter to the conditions you suffer…" she continued muttering to herself as she figured it out.

"Are you going to babble to yourself all night or can I punch the answers out of you?"

"My spiritual energy can only be channeled to you through an intimate touch."

"I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with you _touching _me in a state of—"

"Don't worry, I'd never get _that_ intimate with a bastard like you," Tora retorted heatedly.

"You'd better hold your tongue if you want to keep it," Hiei snapped, his muscles tensing.

Tora narrowed her eyes. "There's nothing behind your words, Hiei. You've never even harmed that blue-haired girl, that Ningen child or anyone else you've threatened yet…"

"What? Have you spied on me in the past days?"

"Part of the job."

The jaganshi bared his teeth, drawing out his katana and attacking Tora. The fureasei dodged to the side, rolling behind the bushes and taking out her twin blades. "So, you're choosing death, are you?" she whispered. She flinched as splinters of wood spat at her when the fire demon cleaved the tree she was next to in two.

"You're the one who'll die, wench!" he growled menacingly as he darted after her between the obstacles of trees.

The jaganshi swung and just missed, hacking another tree in half as she shrunk beneath his blade against the trunk. He sliced at her again, getting caught between her crossed blades and pressing her against the tree.

"I hate you…" he muttered through clenched teeth.

Tora laughed. "I don't care." She then twisted out of the hold, using her legs to sweep the jaganshi off his feet and then pouncing on him.

The blades clanged against each other again, Hiei's crimson eyes glaring up into Tora's golden ones with vehement intensity. She was no mere A-class demon. Could this mean that she was an imposter or something? He smirked at the girl, feeling an impulse of interest torment him as their bodies exuded heat. The rattling of the blades ceased when Hiei dug a foot into Tora's stomach, pushing her off him.

The fureasei flipped away. She found her way up into the trees to bring him up with her. They sliced through the foliage, butchering the trees into broken formations. Their skills seemed fairly matched until the yasha caught the scent of something. She fell off guard for that moment and was pinned against a tree with her eyes squeezed shut.

She opened them again to be met by Hiei's severe eyes only inches from her face. His blade was spiked into the tree right next to her head, its cold steel just touching an ear. "Why'd you stop?" he chastised.

"Don't you sense it…?" she muttered, her stomach churning at his prolonged stare.

Hiei took a moment, finding different inference in her words than what was meant. He sorted out his thoughts and then noticed another presence as well.

There was a crack through the air and the supporting branch beneath them broke. They fell into some bushes, Tora's fall broken by the fire demon. "Well, that was graceful," she muttered bitterly, sitting up to dash her eyes about the vicinity in search of enemies.

Hiei spat out a leaf. Then his attention was ensnared by the sight of Tora sitting on top of him. His face burned up just as she zipped off into the forestry. He shook his head of the stupid thoughts and got up to his feet, going to chase after the fureasei. And not a second too soon…

When he caught up to her, she was just about to ambush an unsuspecting person who happened to be a grim reaper Hiei knew. He pushed away a few malicious ideas and swept in to redirect Tora's attack to the ground. Her twin blades staked into the dirt along with Hiei's katana, the _cling_ barely heard amid Botan's scream.

Hiei acknowledged Tora's death glare with his own. "What are you doing here?" he said flatly to Botan, not taking his eyes away from the fureasei.

"_Me_?" Botan said incredulously. "Well, it's my job to check the safety of my… friends…" she mumbled lastly as Hiei glared at her. "Okay… Koenma sent me… He wasn't sure if the servant he sent made it here…"

"Servant?" Tora hissed, breaking out of Hiei's block. "Is that what he really referred to me as?"

Botan spluttered. "W-what… Um, erm… Well, I'm not entirely sure… but you know, it's not nice to kill the messenger! And besides, what good would that do anyway?" she replied nervously, frantically waving her hands in front of her.

The jaganshi sheathed his sword, close to murderous thoughts again for that Reikai prince if he actually expected Hiei to tolerate TWO moody females. "Yes, Koenma's 'servant' is here so you can leave now."

"Hm? Oh, yes… but I was wondering, where are you two going? Koenma didn't say—he was very mysterious about it…" she said with the usual Botan innocent curiosity.

Hiei snorted. "Pft. If he didn't say, then I see no reason for me to either."

Tora nodded, launching up into the trees with the jaganshi following.

"Huh? Wait up you two!" Botan shouted and hurried through the bushes after them.

* * *

The two jaganshi demons eventually came to a clearing with a dark lake at the center of it. They were quite surprised to see a swish of shining red hair amidst it—well, one of them were.

Kurama was a few feet from them on the side of the lake, knelt down next to it. His brilliant emerald eyes turned to the two demons and he smiled. "Hello," he said and stood to his feet.

"Why are you here, Kurama?" Hiei asked in measured tones.

Before the red-head could answer, Botan arrived on her oar, setting down gently upon the matted grass. "Phew, that was trying…" she said with a swipe at her beaded forehead. Her eyes went wide when she saw Kurama staring back at her. "Wha… Kurama?"

"Kurama… Hm…" Tora muttered to herself, crossing her arms as the scene unfolded.

Botan walked up and peered into the lake. The water looked utterly still and ominous, and much deeper than it should be. Botan saw her reflection vividly in the dark pools, panting, hair tousled with twigs in it. And then she briefly saw Kurama's glorious form, his red hair and emerald eyes looking even more brilliant in the reflection. She quickly brushed away impertinent thoughts and turned to the other two jaganshis.

"Who are you people?" Tora inquired.

Kurama rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well, we're… friends of Hiei. I'm Shuuichi Minamino and this is Botan," he explained politely.

Botan blinked confusedly, unsure of the situation. Her pink eyes swept over to Kurama, hoping to find answers in those cool, all-knowing eyes.

"…I'm Iginaku Tora."

Botan put a finger over her lip, the cogs in her head obviously turning. "Wait… Have I seen you before?"

"I really see no reason why I should be wasting my time with interrogations so if you don't mind…" Tora said pointedly and approached the lake.

"An Aura…" Kurama said to draw the three-eyed demon's attention. She offered a side glance, continuing to face the ominous lake. "An Aura has made contact with Hiei? This means…"

"What! Are you serious?" Botan exclaimed, looking horror-struck. "Oh my gosh… does Koenma know about this?"

"What do you think? I'm the servant sent to aid him, remember?" muttered Tora.

"You were going to leave without a word of forewarning?" Kurama said with crinkled brows.

Hiei gave a soft chuckle. "Pft. Forewarning of what? I'm just departing this world for a short duration."

"Hiei… don't you know that if you encounter an Aura…" Botan began slowly.

Kurama shook his head and said, "You two shouldn't go there alone…" The red-head paused, glancing back at the yasha. "…That is, if you intended on going all the way, Tora."

The fureasei closed her eyes with a half-smile.

"Besides, Hiei… I thought you came to the Ningenkai to escape some 'trouble' back in Makai. I think you mentioned something regarding your job erasing those Ningens' memories?"

"This is great…" Hiei muttered, ignoring the red-head's question. "Alright, if you two have come, where's the rest of the circus?"

Kurama sighed at Hiei's bluntness and then replied, "They're not here… At least, I don't think they are…" he added while looking to Botan.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that! I told them that the two of us were getting pizza to bring back!" she said brightly.

The other three sweat-dropped.

"Er… And what happens when we don't come back with pizza, Botan?" Kurama asked softly.

Botan raised her eye brows at that, looking dumbstruck. "Oh… I didn't think of that… But! In my defense, I didn't expect that we would be out here for long! I mean… we ARE going back, right?"

"Botan, you _know_ what an Aura is…" Kurama said quietly.

"Well, that's perfect. The rest of the search party will be out here too," Hiei said sarcastically.

Tora shrugged. "We'll be leaving very soon."

Hiei looked to Tora, unsure of what she was going to do to get to Makai. "Hn. So what will YOU do?" Hiei said flatly to the bewildered grim reaper and fox youkai.

They exchanged looks, both knowing their own intentions but unwilling to draw scathing remarks from the impatient demon. Kurama inhaled a deep breath, deciding that he should speak first.

"Hiei, you need to understand the dangers of what you're getting into," he reasoned, accepting a snort for a reply and then continuing, "You have to know what Ooras are and the type of demons that keep them…"

Hiei narrowed his eyes curiously. Demons _keeping _them? It's true that he hadn't heard anything of Auras—he didn't care for trivial information but now, seeing how serious Kurama appeared, he thought it best to listen a little. He nodded, signaling the red head to go on.

Kurama sighed in relief, glad that he wouldn't be just talking to the air. "There is a band of youkai called the Ten of Makai… Their leader—well, his name is—"

"What's that?" Botan cried.

The four looked to the sky to see a wavering beam of light emitting from the moon. Its beam quickly shot onto the center of the lake, sending a burst of water into the air. What looked like a portal was created from the transparent droplets, all of the light being sucked into it.

Hiei went rigid as he stared at the spherical shimmering light, only snapped back into his senses when Tora latched onto his arm and pulled him with her. They leapt through the air, dropping through the light and being absorbed by spirals of silver and white. It felt like streamers were floating up his body while flashes repeatedly went off in front of his eyes.

The only thing keeping his mind from going crazy was the grounding touch of Tora, who still led him down the empty portal.

In one moment it seemed like centuries and the next, milliseconds until everything just went completely black.

_"Hiei are you alright…? Hiei…"_

* * *

AN: Well, there you go! Oh, I made some more changes to the first chapter and tried to make more sense of it, heheh. Now, I've decided to give a couple of other YYH characters bigger roles than originally planned so that should make things much more interesting too. Okay, please review! Flame if you must, I 'spose…

Wolf: Ouch! I didn't mean that literally, Hiei!

Hiei: Hn.


	3. Revenge Tragedy

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, a few other minor OCs and this story! _

Chapter 03 – Revenge Tragedy  
Written by: Amber M

_

* * *

__Don't you remember your old feelings…?  
Do they bother you…?_

* * *

"Hiei?" Tora said again, trying to awaken the unconscious jaganshi. She was certain that this time it wasn't an effect of the Aura but that it was merely the result of the forbidden wormhole they'd just traveled through; that particular wormhole was unstable. 

"Is he okay?"

Tora leapt to her feet, startled by that voice she most certainly wouldn't have expected to hear ever again. She turned to see the red-haired boy named Shuuichi. What's more was that he was carrying that blue-haired girl in his arms too! "You?"

He laughed nervously with a nod of his head. "It's just that… I didn't get to tell Hiei everything yet…"

"There's not much that needs to be known," Tora said coldly, turning back to nudging Hiei with her foot.

"Tora… You were assigned this task by Koenma, weren't you?"

She nodded.

"Well, what exactly does he expect from you?"

The female jaganshi hesitated, her eyes blankly staring at Hiei. Quietly she said, "I will be giving my life if necessary."

Kurama seemed taken back by this; had Koenma actually approved of that? "Is that with Koenma's consent?"

Tora half-smiled, knowing well what had and hadn't been said, remembering word for word what the prince had told her and yet she was also blocking those words out. "Hiei's life is worth a considerable amount more than mine," she muttered.

"Despite how much I disapprove of theories like that, you didn't answer my question."

"I have personal gain should I complete this task," Tora said, continuing to dodge the red-head's question, "Within the coming days, I should attain something I've wanted for the longest time."

Kurama started to feel the wooziness begin to burden his lock on gravity as he toppled to one side. Managing to stay on his feet, he decided to put Botan down for the moment until everything was turned right side up again. He stayed crouched down next to her, shoving a hand through his thick hair where his cranium ached. "He doesn't accede what you're thinking, does he?" Kurama said, watching the psychedelic colors dance in front of his eyes. That wormhole really did have its price.

"Yes, Shuuichi. Of course, you're right," Tora finally admitted exasperatedly. "But he did say that it is my job to ensure the successful completion of this mission. In my eyes, that means no matter what the cost."

"Tora, you know that's not… Uhg… When exactly are these side-effects of that wormhole supposed to wear off?" Kurama asked, getting queasy from all the dizzying colors.

Tora raised a brow, turning to the red-head apathetically. "Hm… Seeing as YOU actually remained conscious, I suppose roughly another five minutes."

"Okay…" Kurama breathed.

Tora smiled softly, pleased that there were some benefits from using that wormhole; now, the red-head couldn't be as prying as he wanted. Calmly pacing away from the trio, she looked distantly at the valley over the cliff edge, seeing dark cavities in the parallel wall. That was the demon establishment known as Fukushuugeki, a place run by an old _friend_.

"Dammit…" she heard Hiei growl and turned to find the fire demon sitting up with a hand rubbing his head. Surprisingly, he stood to his feet without so much as a little sway. His crimson eyes turned to the amused fureasei, Tora raising her brows at his murderous glare. "You know, I really wouldn't mind taking that pretty head off your shoulders right now—Do you want to know how seamless a decapitation actually is?"

"Hmph. Don't blame me for your petite endurance…"

"What?" the fire demon hissed. "Well, if you're offering your life, I'll just have to take it…" he said while whipping out his katana.

Tora raised a hand to the air. "No. That's not necessary. I don't think we should waste so much time in this area… We need to speak with the proprietor of that place over there," Tora said dryly, gesturing to the said establishment.

Hiei sneered at the woman's ignorance. "You expect me to just take your insolence sitting down? I was not giving you an option!" he growled in measured tones, each muscle in his body aching to bring pain to the girl and yet lacking the spring needed for retaliation.

"Hiei…" Kurama croaked, his eyes dilating slowly. "She's right—it isn't the time for things like this…"

The jaganshi's head snapped in Kurama's direction, appalled to see the green eyes staring back at him. "What the hell are you doing here?" And then he saw that marked blue hair dotting the bland ground. "And you brought _her_ with you too!"

"I didn't…! Uhg… Please, Hiei, would you refrain from yelling at the moment?" Kurama pleaded, shaking his aching head.

The angered fire demon whirled on Tora and growled, "Send them back. They don't belong here…"

"Of course I want to but… I'm afraid that's impossible," she mumbled, turning to the valley. "That wormhole is only enterable from the Ningenkai."

"Great… Tell me then, what happens when the spirit detective and his friends track our scents to that place? Will they be entering too?"

"Not unless they figure out it only opens under a full-moon."

"Well, there must be some other way to send these two back—"

"There is, but…"

"What?"

"Just hold on a second! I need to remember the layout of this area…"

"Do you actually know where we're supposed to go?"

"Ooooh…" Botan moaned, slitting one eye open to see two blurry figures interacting animatedly and then rolled to the other side to see a smudge of red hair floating over her. Both of her pink eyes opened lazily, focusing in and out like a broken zoom function on a camera until she could vaguely make out Kurama's muzzy expression. Her senses returned with a bang, the quarrel of the two jaganshis sounding like thousands of nails on a chalk board and then there were flapping butterfly wings of colors filtering her vision. She hugged her head, trying to shield it from the offending noises and colors. "Ouch… my head hurts," she whimpered quietly.

"It'll wear off Botan," Kurama assured softly, beginning to see and hear in normal mode again. He'd only realized the significance in the coordinates of the locality; part of his mind was familiar with this place. It was the A-class level of Makai where he, as Youko, had been through a number of times…

"…One more word and I'm removing one of your precious limbs!"

"That's Fukushuugeki," Kurama said aloud, drawing the jaganshi's attention mid-attack. "Kyuushuu is there, isn't he?"

Tora nodded, her face furrowed perplexedly—how had he known of Kyuushuu? _How does he know of a member of the Ten of Makai?_

_Hn._

_I heard that…_ Tora thought back to Hiei's mute response.

"Actually, I wonder the same thing," Hiei said wryly, "How is it you know a name of this band of demons anyway?"

"You must've heard at least one mention of them, Hiei," said Kurama, "Knowing the Ten of Makai's name and what they are isn't exactly common knowledge. They've kept a low profile for a little over a hundred years now… but among capable demons, they're a force to be reckoned."

"Keeping a low profile? Sounds like cowardice."

"Or they're waiting for the right moment to strike," Kurama said with a frown. "I am… familiar with half of the elite Ten of Makai members, Kyuushuu is one I happen to know…"

"And _how_ do you know their names? From what I gather, only members in their ranks know the names of the elite. Even these _capable demons _you speak of would have trouble attaining such information," Tora asked suspiciously, unable to find an answer in the red-head's thoughts through telepathy.

Botan's condition lifted in a snap. She peered out of her clasped hands to see that no more swirls of colors were fluttering and twisting about. "Bingo!" she giggled, sitting up with a triumphant smile on her face. Without delay, she jumped up from the ground and surveyed the area. "Wow, we really made it here, huh?"

The other three were staring at her curiously, especially Tora and Kurama, seeing as the red-head had endured much more wooziness then Botan apparently had.

"You're… standing?" Tora asked quizzically.

"Hm? Well, what does it look like? So, what level of Makai are we on anyway?" said the blue-haired grim reaper.

"Are you sure you're feeling well?" Kurama inquired with crinkled brows.

Botan's eyes glanced curiously about the questioning faces, wondering what the big deal was about. "Well… yes. Yes, I never felt better! Um, shouldn't we go find the Aura so we can get out of here?"

"Yes… I suppose we should…" Kurama agreed, puzzling over the contrasting effects of the wormhole.

* * *

The group started across the valley where dead rush grasses and broken pieces of cliff littered the parched surfaces. A clear moving stream cut the valley in half; it reflected each of the party's figures as they crossed via flattened stones. It seemed eerily quiet what with the establishment before them obviously being a large place for inhabitance, harboring at least one hundred spacious rooms. 

They arrived in front of the place, mere ants in comparison to the gargantuan structure, and paused there, looking up at the open windows.

"It doesn't seem like anyone's here…" Botan commented.

Tora muttered, "Most of them are sleeping I guess… You should stay out here."

"What? Why?"

"This place isn't very welcoming to females…"

"So, then what exactly are you saying about yourself?"

Tora gritted her teeth. "Unlike you, _I_ am not defenseless. Plus, they know me."

"Who does?"

"You're staying out here," Tora stated firmly, "I won't spend further years in prison just because some baka wanted to tag along…" With that, the fureasei casually proceeded to the entrance without giving the blue-haired girl a chance to plea her case.

Botan stamped a foot into the ground, just about to argue her case to the two boys but Kurama spoke first.

"Actually, she might have a point, Botan. Like I've said, I'm a bit familiar with this place and what she says is pretty much the truth."

"So, you're just going to leave me out here by myself!"

"If a big, hideous demon tries to harm you, just start yapping to him about your feminine topics and he'll be _bored _to death," Hiei said flatly and headed for the entrance as well.

"Botan," Kurama said, hushing her from retorting to the rude fire demon, "That looks like a safe enough place over there—" (he pointed out a cluster of large rocks) "—We won't be long and if any demons actually _do _approach you, just fly away."

"And what about flying demons!"

Kurama chuckled. "Just call out my name and I'll come rescue you," he said with a good-natured smile, one that made Botan go weak in the knees. They both turned from each other, heading their opposite ways while Botan kept watching Kurama over her shoulder. He was just so nice… so handsome… so gallant… so…

She tripped.

Quickly, she picked herself up, brushing off a little dust and hurried away, only noticed by the insensitive Hiei though who sniffed mockingly.

"Clumsy fool…" he muttered as Kurama joined them at the entrance.

Kurama noticed Hiei's amused smirk and turned to see what it was that influenced that expression. He only saw Botan slipping in between the large rocks across the stream.

"Are you coming?" they heard Tora beckon and then entered the establishment.

* * *

It seemed like they walked for miles through empty hall after empty hall, occasionally seeing sleeping human-like demons in the open rooms; it was so peculiar how lacking of security the place was… Eventually Tora slowed to a stop at a dead end, examining the blank wall. 

"Don't tell me… You took a wrong turn?" Hiei scolded and crossed his arms.

Tora sneered, raising a hand after finding a particular spot and pressing her fingers to the weathering stone. A glowing symbol ghosted over the surface and then the wall pulled aside, sand falling from the edges. The three stepped into the largest room they had seen yet, very long with few objects in the room: a rectangular block that served as a bed in a far corner, a table, and a few benches lined up beneath the windows. Tora lead the way to the center of the room and stopped there, glancing about the emptiness.

_So, where is he? _Hiei thought to Tora who shook her head in return.

"Who is that?" said an impish voice.

The three searched the area again, not able to see anyone. "Kyuushuu!" Tora called out to him.

"No…" Kyuushuu mumbled and then sunk down from the roof, "That's _my_ name."

He was a lanky, lynx youkai with dark-circled eyes set deep in his sockets. "Hmph. Well, if it isn't the traitorous… Hm? Why do you smell of fox?" he cut off, referring to the red-head.

Tora raised a brow to Shuuichi; she _had_ sensed something about him—was he…?

"Why is the scent of Him on you?"

Kurama's brows knitted together; his status with the Ten of Makai wasn't exactly good.

Tora shook off her questions, turning instead back to the pertinent matter. "Never mind him, Kyuushuu. I need to locate a certain Oora… Which Ten of Makai member has recently opened the mind of one?" she inquired commandingly, not quite able to rid herself of that anxious feeling though.

Kyuushuu laughed. "Ha! Do you really expect me to just hand out information like that? What the heck became of your sanity in Reikai?"

The fureasei growled, "Fine! What is your price?"

"Heheh, my price? Hm… Alright, I want _him_ to reveal who he truly is," he said, thrusting a finger in Kurama's direction.

The red-head turned his eyes to the ground. The memories of the last tournament, battling Shigure resurfaced. That was when he was certain he'd said good-bye to Youko Kurama for good. It then occurred to him how deep he was in again…

He had once again thrust himself into a battle with his past…

He gave a curt nod and closed his eyes, his body illuminating with a mist that engulfed him. Kyuushuu smiled malevolently, watching as the mist evaporated to reveal the silver-haired fox youkai, a demon high on the Ten of Makai's list of prey.

Tora watched with mouth agape—it really was him, the legendary thief.

The youkai's piercing yellow eyes stared across at the other youkai, an obvious rise in hostility on the dry air.

The fox youkai was just as she had remembered him…

"Don't forget the deal," Hiei said to Kyuushuu who looked as if he were about to burst into a maniacal fit any second now. The jaganshi also had to note some kind of fascinated interest the femme fureasei had in Youko.

The lynx youkai's smile tightened. "Right… Okay… Honestly…" He hesitated, that smile turning into some kind of twisted grin. "…I don't know. You might want to try Usotsuki up north…" Kyuushuu started laughing again, oblivious to the fact that he had just broken a Ten of Makai rule: never disclose other Ten of Makai member names to strangers—Hiei was considered a stranger.

This made Tora smile. "Hm… You're a dead youkai, Kyuushuu…"

"Huh?" he muttered absently, his fingers arching into claws. He never even noticed the red collar branding on his neck until it went to its brightest. "What the—?" he groaned, clasping his hands over the scorching collar. "No! No, I must destroy this treacherous bastard first!" the lynx youkai shouted to the ceiling and then sprung forth at Youko.

Before Kyuushuu reached the kitsune, however… he was dead. But it was Youko's death plant that had killed him, not the Ten of Makai's punishment. Tora's eyes went wide at the sight, Hiei looking on in indifference.

The saliva of the death tree plants quickly melted Kyuushuu's skin, melting the muscles, and then the bones, its fangs locked over his side like a dog with a chew toy. What remained of Kyuushuu's body twitched gruesomely amidst the carnage, his glassy eyes melting as the plant munched.

"Youko, what have you done…?" Tora whispered shakily.

* * *

AN: Thanks so much for reading and I'd be really, really grateful if you'd review too! 


	4. Possession

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, a few other OCs and this story!_

Chapter 04 – Possession  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_You're no hero...  
You're much too selfish...  
I wonder how far you'll go..._

* * *

Botan sighed, not all that pleased with having to wait alone outside—especially in Makai. Every little tap of falling rocks, the swish of small lizards as they scurried about the valley, the distant caws of birds that sounded like buzzards, all of it made Botan jump five feet into the air. How long were they going to be in there and what the heck could she be missing?

The girl swiped at her hair, keeping it out of her eyes as the wind teased it. As far as she could tell, absolutely nothing was going on in the establishment; there was one point when she thought she'd seen a faint glow of light emitting from somewhere in the building but didn't get a long enough look to confirm it. With a resigned groan, she ducked back behind the rocks and slid down to the ground. They'd better not be doing anything life-threatening.

"…Hmph… Guess you're right—"

Botan's ears pricked up at the sound, a male's voice speaking from somewhere above. The grim reaper stood up and flattened her back against the large rock, staring up to where the voice came from.

"—I'm not picking up Kyuushuu's scent at all. The collar wouldn't kill him that fast…"

"See!" Botan flinched at the sound of another voice; that one was a high-pitched female's. "Didn't I tell you? I can pick up any youkai's scent miles away," the girl said proudly.

There was a pause, the sound of movement and then: "You said there was an additional youkai's scent along with Kyuushuu's, one you didn't recognize?"

"Yep. All I can tell you is that it's a kitsune's scent… Hm?" the girl muttered suddenly.

Botan's eyes went wide, her heart pounding loudly up in her ears.

"What is it?" asked the male.

"It's a… funny smell… Unusual…"

"Well, what IS it?" the male growled impatiently.

"It's coming from…"

Botan nibbled at her lip, her body trembling of terror—it was lavender scented body spray she had gotten on sale. Still looking skyward, a face popped out from over the rock. The female youkai was a kitsune with big brown ears and amber eyes; if not for the ears, the girl could be mistaken for a cutesy teen bopper.

"There!" the girl kitsune shouted and blinked at the frightened pink eyes.

Expecting to see the figure of the male come up beside the kitsune, she was startled to feel the expected presence _behind_ her instead. Botan slowly turned her head and yelped at the sight of a tall koyoote youkai. She recoiled from the towering demon, stopping as she heard the kitsune drop behind her.

"Eh? What _is_ that smell?" the kitsune questioned, wriggling her nose.

Botan stuttered, eventually able to form words. "W-who are you two?" she asked, looking frantically between the pair.

"Hm? Oh! Of course, my name is—"

"Shush!" the male youkai barked to cut off the kitsune's introduction. He turned his grey eyes back to Botan. "I don't think you're entitled to an answer in that regard—after all, you ARE trespassing on our territory," he said coldly. "You're no demon but you don't smell like a human either… so, that only leaves a few alternatives—I suspect you're a being of Reikai…"

"What? But how could they have found… The other intruders are coming, Shi… I mean, sir!"

The male turned his hard eyes over his shoulder, probably pondering whether or not he should take the blue-haired girl hostage or not. He shot a glare at Botan, examining her face and then launching up into the air. The kitsune raised her brows and then went after her leader. Realizing she was barely breathing, Botan quickly drew in some air, relieved when she heard the trio's tread in her vicinity. Turning back to the establishment in hopes of seeing a certain red-head, she was surprised to see another in his place.

"Who were those creatures?" Hiei asked flatly.

Botan was a bit peeved at the thought of them taking their sweet time to come investigate but was more curious as to why Kurama had gone to his full demon form. "Why is… Youko here?"

Tora sniffed the air, frowning once she caught that unique youkai smell. "How many were here?" she asked.

"What? Oh, t-there were two demons here… Why didn't you hurry over here? You saw them from the distance didn't you?"

"Guess we were hoping they'd eat you," Hiei said with a smirk.

Botan gritted her teeth. "Hiei, if you continue to behave like that, everyone you care for will be lost!"

The jaganshi merely raised a brow, turning his attention to the fureasei as she spoke. "The koyoote and kitsune were here, huh?" Tora muttered—more to herself than anyone else. "This isn't good…"

"What isn't?" Botan asked, flustered over the situation.

"We're all going to die…"

"Whaaat! That's a little morbid, don't you think?" Botan exclaimed, flailing her arms into the air at that absurd remark. "Tell me what happened in there!"

"You shouldn't have killed Kyuushuu…." Tora said dangerously to the icy kitsune youkai. "Our fates are now set in stone."

"Why don't you change back?" Hiei queried, a bit on the irritable side that the silver hair was still present after the events were over.

"It seems I have a score to settle," Youko's smoky voice replied. He turned to the fureasei, staring into her golden eyes—they brought back memories. "You don't seem to have changed."

"Hmph, nor have you," Tora muttered, resuming her introverted posture. "Don't you realize that the Ten of Makai will not submit to traitors killing off their people? They'll stop at nothing to finish us all off."

"An exigent challenge. I haven't had one of those in the longest time."

Tora ground her teeth resentfully. She shook her head at the ground, gaining a headache at the thought of what was to come.

"You're not needed here… Kura… _Shuuichi's _abilities will suffice in this case. Besides, I thought you'd given up your existence," Hiei said stubbornly, glaring daggers at the fox youkai.

Youko darted his eyes to him, using a similarly deathly stare. "The Ten of Makai are disgracing my name. I won't allow this to go unnoticed."

"Doesn't Shuuichi's consciousness coincide with yours?"

"You know it doesn't—not entirely."

Hiei didn't care. There was just too much question revolving around this unknown connection the fox youkai had with the femme fureasei—too much.

The two continued to exchange nasty glares until Botan felt excessively unnerved by the rising tension. "O—kay… Well, I think that just while we're in these demon dwellings, Youko can be present. Otherwise Shuuichi will be here! How's that?" she suggested with a nervous grin. Though secretly, she already missed seeing her red-haired knight-in-shining-armor. Her grin became more genuine at the thought of Kurama as her knight.

"Whatever… We have to go see you-know-who," Tora finally mumbled, "Maybe we can get to him before they all emerge from the shadows to massacre."

"Usotsuki?" Hiei queried, dropping his grudging thoughts for the duration. Tora nodded in reply and went on to lead the way out of the valley.

* * *

They found a long winding path cutting across varying terrain. At the moment the path was just slowly rising as they trekked over a hill. Hiei brought up the rear, basically using this droning travel period to study the behavioral patterns between Tora and Youko. As it appeared, they didn't seem to be _that_ well acquainted with each other, leaving the jaganshi to drop his study of Youko and pay more attention to the fureasei. It'd irked him that her jagan's dragon had actually stood up to his own. He had prevailed but narrowly and now that he was thinking clearly, he'd wondered just why Koenma sent _this_ girl to him.

He slowed to a stop when something fell from Tora's clothing, a strange pendant hooked to a chain. With a hesitation, he raised a brow and plucked the thing up from the ground. It was silvery. The pendant was some kind of star with an unusually bulged out center as if the outer shell encapsulated something.

"Hiei, you can't be wandering off solo! Remember, we're all here because of you!" Botan called back, the fire demon scowling at the girl's statement.

He let out a low growl and pocketed the trinket with intent of returning it later.

"This'll take forever…" Tora muttered to herself, stopped at the top of the hill and surveying the chasms and rock slides ahead.

"Why don't we make haste then?" Youko coolly suggested.

The fureasei demon tightened one side of her lip in thought. She turned to the grim reaper and said, "You can fly, can't you?"

"Wha… Yes, that I can do. Why?"

"We need to hurry to Usotsuki's. Just fly high above the ground—I'd suggest right beneath the clouds—and head north."

"Oh… Won't that attract some demon's attention?"

Tora shook her head. "It's more dangerous to fly close to the ground. This area harbors rapacious demons concealed in the earth. There's less chance of you being devoured right on the spot in the sky."

Botan gave a little whimper at that unpleasant thought, heaved a deep breath, brought out her oar and then drifted off into the open air.

Hiei joined the other two as they watched the blue dot become more and more distant. "Hn. Finally cut her loose, huh?"

"Alright, let's hurry—Just follow my lead," Tora said and flitted over the jagged terrain. "Remember to watch out for giant teeth!" she warned as the demons swiftly skipped along behind her.

Whatever demons lived here were probably bulky, sluggish monstrosities, easily taken down when hit in the right spots. Hiei glanced down in the crevices beneath him here and there, only able to see outlines of light that could be the frame of anything. Just as he launched himself from a rock to cross a particularly large crevice, he heard the jangle of chains. He looked back to see that Tora's trinket had slipped from his pocket—figures.

He growled as he hit the other side only to bounce back down the crevice to chase the shining item. The jaganshi caught it midair just before it disappeared into the darkness below. Smirking to himself as he clung to the rugged wall, he slipped the chain back in his pocket and got ready to pounce back up. Some of the loose rock the fire demon had dug his feet into fell from the wall.

A moan echoed through the crevice, Hiei glued to the parallel wall and just about to climb up when he heard the thunderous noise. His brows knitted together as he saw a peach colored creature shoot up from the depths. It was the size of a six story building and had two big black slit eyes on either side of its face.

Great.

Hiei got back up onto level ground, deciding to flee from the hideous creature and catch up to the other two in some sliver of a hope that they didn't notice. As far as he could tell, they had gone way ahead of him; rather than being angry that he'd been left behind this far, he leapt over the rocks, having to dodge some green goop that the earth demon was spitting at him.

Reaching the farthest end, he finally came across Tora who was just backtracking for the fire demon and darted past her.

Tora raised a brow, stopped on a separated pillar. The pillar shook beneath her, drawing her attention to the huge monster. She sneered and turned to head north again; at least that creature was too slow to capture them and too languid to pursue them for long.

"How'd you manage to awaken a baka oni like that? Just felt like testing my words?" she scorned with a half-smile; the girl had gotten herself familiar with a few of the fire demon's past incidents. "You just always have to do what you please, don't you?"

Hiei didn't respond, instead glancing about the grounds. "Where'd the kitsune go?"

"To locate the grim reaper."

"What, did she fly too far ahead?"

Tora shrugged, feeling her bones vibrate as the big earth demon neared. "I suggest we move…"

They sped off again, leaving a disappointed giant behind.

* * *

The sky had become much darker by the time the pair reached an opening, able to see a slice of another structure ahead that was apparently where Usotsuki was posted. Neither the fox youkai nor the female grim reaper had been found yet. Tora become uneasy with the idea of Youko slaughtering another Ten of Makai member. If he did that, finding the Oora would be much more difficult.

As if that thought was a cue, Hiei collapsed to the ground with his hands pressing against his skull, stifled screams whistling through his clenched teeth.

Tora drew in a shaky breath, hoping that this time he could fight it himself. She watched with anticipation, her body hopelessly quivering; subconsciously she felt his pain, felt it crawling in her skin and writhing through her veins. He wasn't looking good. It seemed as though she was going to have to lend him the spiritual energy again when his body just went completely still.

The fureasei's eyes blew open. She moved to approach him when she saw his eyes open. _That was close… _Tora thought while rubbing one side of her temple.

"You alright?" she asked with a sigh.

But wait…

There was something different about his crimson eyes… They _weren't _crimson… No, they had turned a pale, grayish-purple and bloodshot.

Tora balked, her hands automatically guiding to the hilts of her twin blades.

The purple eyed jaganshi stood to his feet robotically, hunching over when he was steadily on both feet. "…Why haven't you come yet…?" he questioned spookily, his breath short and ragged in between words.

"Who am I speaking to?" Tora said in measured tones, slowly drawing out her blades.

"Are you fit for this task…?"

"Who are you?" Tora demanded, barely able to get the question out when Hiei sprung at her with his katana drawn in one blurry motion.

The blades clashed together, Tora skidding back on her planted toes while she held up her shielding weapons. Her teeth gritted together and she glared into those purple eyes through the crossing steels. She let out a growl as she slipped out of the close challenge, immediately being pursued by the possessed jaganshi. They skated across the barren fields, the ringing of the blades reverberating every few seconds when the fire demon relentlessly attacked.

"Hey, snap out of it!" she hissed as they made quick exchange of single hits.

The fire demon broke one of Tora's guards, carving an upwards cut into her shoulder and sending her to the ground. The girl sheathed one of her twin blades, deeming one of her arms useless in wielding it any more and strafed away again.

"Is this how you'll save him?" Hiei taunted.

Tora turned, getting ready to retaliate but instead having to duck a horizontal slice. She rolled out from beneath his arm reach and started concentrating some of her demon energy into her limp arm. A line of white light swished past her again when she side stepped, the jaganshi's attack nearly taking off her arm entirely that time. With her arm in poor condition due to the rapid blood loss, she relocated to a large dead tree, the one object in the fields that could be used as a means of protection.

She bounded up unto its branches, circling it while Hiei chased after her. Her arm twitched, bringing her to see that a ball of pale red energy was ready to be fired. Struggling to find the opportunity to use it, she had to continue leading the jaganshi in an ascending spiral.

At the top, she dropped back down to a long, outstretched branch on the lower half again. This was the spot. The jaganshi came bolting down, his katana raised over his head. Then he was blasted in the torso by a scorching rocket of energy. It sent him far away back to the ground, his body ripping a scar into the field.

The weary fureasei took in some much needed breaths and then went to check on Hiei's condition.

She arrived by his side, glad to see that he seemed to be returning back to himself. His eyes weren't that purple color anymore but back to that deep crimson. They looked up into Tora's eyes.

Hiei coughed and then raggedly asked, "What… What happened?"

Tora shook her head—no strength for words. Her body was coated with sweat and her shoulder had been bled of a few pints, the crimson soaking into her clothing. Closing her eyes, she fell to a knee, feeling her legs rattling like they were bells that'd been struck by hammers. It'd actually been a while since she'd had such a vigorous battle. The thing was, it'd barely even lasted long.

"Are you alright?"

"You?" she asked back in a breath, looking up at him through heavy eyelids.

Hiei looked to the ground and sheathed his blade. He was drawn back to her face though, wanting to do or say something but unable to. Well, as long as she wasn't dead, everything was fine…

* * *

AN: Pretty please, would ya review? Good feedback or simple words of motivation are very much appreciated! Definitely can't continue for a while unless I get at least 3 reviews... Well, these things are hard to write, you know!

(gets smacked by Hiei)

Wolf: (sobs)

Hiei: Get over it…


	5. Almost part I

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, a few other minor OCs and this story!_

Chapter 05 – Almost Part I  
Written by: Amber M (whose new alias is Wolfinstrife!)

* * *

_It's up to you if you're allowed happiness…  
As long as you shut them out, there's no possibility for pain…  
You'll have nothing bad to dwell on…  
Nothing good to find…  
Shut everything out and nothing will come in…_

* * *

"Heh… You're a lot more dangerous when you're insane…" Tora muttered, sitting down with the fire demon.

"Friggin' Oora… Tell me, will we kill it whence found?" Hiei asked with mock-hopefulness as he raveled a white strip of bandage around his arm.

Tora watched his turned back curiously. "What the hell are you doing? I didn't get to give you the eye-for-an-eye treatment."

Hiei snorted, diligently working the band up his arm to cover the dragon. "Just a precaution."

"You think a mere bandage will prevent harm from coming to it?"

"It's the other way around," he whispered, angry with himself for being possessed. The fire demon cursed himself for allowing another entity to take over his body so easily. From what he gathered, it was actually the doing of the Aura; that was just worse. He was conquered by some frail, whining, little—

"There's a dragon mark on your arm," the fureasei commented amusedly, peering over Hiei's shoulder.

Hiei sneered. "Mind your own business."

Tora grumbled to herself, sitting back and then trying to clean up her wound some. The laceration had slowed in bleeding and was already starting to crust at the edges. The fureasei kept tearing off the crusty skin, still trying to clean the blood and dirt off with her tongue. She spat out metallic tasting red every few seconds, drawing the fire demon's attention to the noise.

He turned to face her and then watched the messy job interestedly. "What are you doing?" Hiei asked with a raise of his brow.

"What does it look like? I'm cleaning this wound," Tora muttered, glancing at him with a glaring regard.

"Hn… The baka spirit girl could heal that."

"Go find her then," Tora muttered in a hiss.

The jaganshi shook his head. The truth was that he was still a bit worn—probably due mostly to that possession. He wasn't sure if he could get far without collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.

"Not up to it?" the fureasei muttered in a near mocking manner.

Hiei scowled at her. Instead of retorting he gingerly laid back against the dry wheat covered ground, folding his arms behind his head. The sky in this area was a monotonous gray as far as the eye could see. Everything would've been completely quiet had the wind not been blowing, softly whistling through the one big tree to the fields.

_Maybe you'd enjoy absolute solitude… in Oblivion… _

"I'm not alone right now…"

"Huh?" Tora muttered, staring at Hiei with an odd expression.

The fire demon glanced up at her, somehow put at ease by those golden eyes. "Nothing."

Tora sniffed in doubt. She was a bit on edge, just wondering when the jaganshi would spring at her next. The Aura was not going to take things lightly as it seemed…

"How is it you have spiritual energy, Tora?" the fire demon asked flatly, turning his eyes heavenward with the same glazed stare.

"Hmph. I think if I'm to mind my own business, you should mind yours, don't you agree?"

Hiei shook his head indignantly. Oh well, it wasn't like he cared—he was just bored. It was funny how boredom seemed to change its definition for the jaganshi on a regular basis lately. Well… many things were changing definition to him actually…

The sky… it was like one being projector screen… Hiei could see so much in it despite its bland appearance. "It's always there…"

"And you complain about ME muttering to myself…" Tora said sarcastically, shaking her head. "Well, we should get going—before it gets too dark, "she mumbled as she stood up with a cringe.

"Hn. Are you able?"

"Are _you_?"

The jaganshi rolled his eyes and loathingly stood up only to embarrassingly fall back down. His face burned up, his hands clenching tightly into fists. He could just feel Tora's condescending smirk looking down on him. "Just shut up."

"I said nothing…" the fureasei mumbled with a ghost of a smile and sat back down.

* * *

When the two jaganshi demons eventually found the strength to travel again, they headed straight for the establishment, their previous destination before the delay. There had been no sighting of any other demons—with the exception of some harmless birdlike creatures flocking by—and the two began to wonder what became of Youko and Botan. They didn't have to wonder for long though…

Tora slowed to a stop in front of the strange building. It looked much like a large beehive practically hovering in the air if not for the one column positioned beneath it. The fureasei leapt up into one of the windows without hesitation, the fire demon quick to follow.

Inside, their attention was immediately grabbed by two figures on the ground.

The blue-haired grim reaper was squatted down next to an unconscious red-head…

Her teary pink eyes looked up to the new arrivals. "W-where have you been?" she asked shakily, swiping away a tear escaping an eye.

Hiei looked down at Kurama with wide eyes. "What the hell happened!" he demanded, approaching for a closer look. The red head was still breathing.

"Usotsuki… What did he do? Try to banish Youko?" the fureasei asked casually.

"Huh?" Botan mumbled dazedly. She wiped more tears from her eyes and then replied, "Well… Yes… He said he'd banished his _soul_… and now… look what's happened to Kurama…"

The jaganshi demons exchanged looks.

* * *

_(Earlier) _

"Well, where are they? I don't see them anywhere…" Botan asked quietly aloud although no one was available to receive the question. She shielded a hand over her eyes, holding her oar in the other as she surveyed the strange demon establishment. "Nope, not one per—AH!" she suddenly screamed and stumbled back.

The silver-haired fox youkai was standing right beside her, looking at the beehive impassively.

Botan put a hand over her heart, sighing in relief. "Phew… Thank goodness. I thought I'd lost you guys."

"The other two haven't appeared yet?" Youko muttered. He had actually been distracted by another Ten of Makai's scent after crossing the gorges. He was certain that he'd picked up the trail of two youkai's and it had been fresh. However, as he continued to follow it, it eventually dissolved into thin air out in the middle of nowhere. He then returned to the paths and headed north, assuming the others had gone ahead.

"Er… No… They haven't. So, they weren't with you either? But last I saw—"

"Stay here."

"Huh?"

The kitsune glanced at the blue haired girl but said no more. He flitted over to an opening in the hive and disappeared into its darkness.

"What? Oh no, you don't… NOT again…" Botan whispered irritably and remounted her oar.

She drifted through the same open window that Youko had gone through and quietly stepped foot onto a sandy floor. The walls seemed to be moving, crawling but it was only loose sand ceaselessly streaming down, even from the ceiling. Botan squinted from the grain and cautiously proceeded down the dim corridor.

Shortly she arrived at a very large spiraling staircase right in the center of the hive apparently. She thought she'd seen Youko, a blurry silhouette hopping around near the top. Pursing her lips, she got back on her oar and went up after the shadow.

She followed it to one of the top story floors into a curved room that looked out onto the dry grounds outside. She looked about curiously, finding nothing but a large fire place set into one of the walls and raked piles of sand in places here and there. Just as she was going to turn and look elsewhere, some sparkling yellow eyes lit up from the shadows in a corner.

"Oh!" Botan said as she saw them, nearly jumping out of her skin again. "There you are… You know, I don't think there's anyone else here…" She put a finger to her lip, staring curiously at the lit up fire. If no one else was here then why was that fire going?

Her pony tail was blown over her head and into her face as a swift current of wind jetted by her. When she batted her hair out of her face, she was looking upon a mess of kicked-up sand and claw-made lines cutting through the air.

Botan cringed, realizing that this obscure scene was actually a fight. "What?" she uttered and recoiled to a wall. "Y-Yo—ko…?"

She could hardly tell what was going on, who Youko was fighting or if Youko was even in there.

A ragged scream burst into the air.

The youkai Youko was fighting had been shoved into the fire place. He flailed his flaming arm through the air and then hammered it against a pile of sand to put it out. Once the flames disappeared, the panther youkai huffed, maniacally staring at Youko while his charred arm quivered uncontrollably.

"Damned bastard," the panther youkai hissed.

"Did that hurt, Usotsuki?" the kitsune asked coolly.

"How dare you set foot on my turf… And after being banished from the Ten of Makai?"

The kitsune didn't seem to care, flicking some silver locks out of his face with a toss of his head.

The panther youkai's lip twitched, his eyes narrowed dangerously on the kitsune. He balled his hands into fists, it obviously bringing pain to the one burned arm.

He hesitated and then smiled. "Traitor… You even betrayed your 'best friend', didn't you?" The smile turned malicious on Usotsuki's thin face as he watched Youko's eyes harden. "Yes… Kuronue. You let him die didn't you?"

"You know nothing, Usotsuki. If you mean to taunt me with events of my past, you're out of luck. I won't be bothered by those things anymore."

"If that's true then why are you here?"

There was a silence.

Botan nervously tapped her fingers against each other as she watched the two pairs of yellowish eyes become horribly intense. If that kept up much longer, they just might well have burned holes through each other's heads. Youko made a slight movement which irked Usotsuki into action.

The panther demon dropped into an attack position and concentrated demonic energy into his body, setting a purplish glow onto his skin. Before Youko could move to stop him, a powerful gust of energy blew against him, forcing him away from the panther youkai.

"It's time that you die once and for all, Youko!" Usotsuki bellowed. "Banishment Blades!"

Blade shaped light formed on either side of Usotsuki out of nowhere and he started plucking them. The endless boomerangs of light swished through the air as Usotsuki threw them simultaneously. The objects met their target and tried to burrow into Youko's body. The kitsune could only hold his arms up to block out the pain, unable to do anything else.

After a long minute, Usotsuki stopped, hunched over with his arms limp at his sides. A triumphant grin emerged onto his sweat beaded face when he saw the stirred smoke and dust clear. Youko was no longer there. Instead it was a fallen red head.

"Ha… So, the rumors were true, eh? You took form of one of them pathetic humans…"

A squeak escaped Botan when her eyes fell on the unconscious Kurama. Usotsuki raised a brow, just remembering the girl was in the room. He chuckled in between breaths.

"Well… I'm sorry to say that your honey's soul has been banished, sweetheart," said the panther youkai with obvious delight. "You can do better than him though…"

Usotsuki approached her, making the blue-haired girl flinch at the sight of his nearing. He stopped an arm length from her with a malignant twinkle in his eyes. "I can treat you better than—What? What are you? OW!"

Botan used her oar to whack the demon several times on the head. "Getawaygeteawayget—AWAY!" she shouted in a rush, soon chasing the demon until he fled out the window.

"Crazy witch!" he shouted back to her and then disappeared.

Botan blew at her bangs in a sigh and then hurried over to Kurama's fallen form.

"Kurama, please… Are you okay? Open your eyes, please!" she pleaded. She carefully picked up his head and set him on her lap, gently shaking the red head. "Kurama? Wake up! Please!"

* * *

Hiei could hardly believe it… Someone might've actually…

Botan started sobbing uncontrollably, her face buried into Kurama's chest. _There's just no way he's gone... No... No... _

"Banishing Blades…" Tora muttered with furrowed brows.

"What?" the fire demon asked anxiously, whirling in her direction at the windows.

"Usotsuki's not very good at using that technique…"

"Meaning?"

"All he could manage was to temporarily send away a soul—just enough time for him to escape. The coward," the fureasei muttered in scorn at the panther youkai.

Botan looked up eagerly. "What? So, then… Kurama…"

"He'll be fine, I'm sure. Any second now even… He should—"

"Botan?" croaked Kurama's voice.

Sure enough, the red head's emerald eyes were gazing up at her; they were sleepy but certainly soulful again. Botan smiled softly, squeezing her arms around the bewildered fox youkai. "Oh! You still have your soul! I'm so happy!" she gushed.

"Botan… I—can't—breathe…"

"Oh," she muttered absently and released him, "Sorry…"

Both of them blushed, standing up from the sandy ground. Kurama couldn't help but be touched by the blue-haired girl's concern for him as he watched her distractedly brush the grain from her clothes. Her pink eyes caught his and he quickly looked away, busying himself with the sand on his own clothes.

Hiei grunted, crossing his arms. He turned and asked Tora, "Alright, so what about his full demon form? Was _that_ banished for good?"

Tora shook her head, a bit intrigued by the fox youkai and grim reaper's behavior. She raised a brow at them and then muttered, "So, you got no information from Usotsuki regarding the Oora?"

Kurama scratched his head. "No… I'm sorry…"

"Did he mention _anything _about it?" she inquired with a sigh of frustration.

"I don't think so… but…"

"Does this belong to any of you?" Botan asked, holding up a chain with some odd bone key on it. She searched their blank faces, concluding that it definitely didn't belong to any of the group. "It must've been Usotsuki's… He probably dropped it when he left out the window. That's where I found it."

Tora walked over and took it into her hand, arching a brow. "It must be the key to his chamber…"

"Chamber?"

"Yeah, it's a—"

"Ah, ah, ah…" said a mocking voice.

The four turned to the source at one of the farthest windows. A feminine frame was standing in its light.

"Technically, telling strangers of anything associated with the Ten of Makai is punishable, Tora."

Botan's eyes went wide. It was that female kitsune from before!

"Now, be a good little yasha and hand over Usotsuki's key. You really shouldn't keep things that don't belong to you and you just know how absentminded that silly panther can be," she said perkily and approached the lot.

The fureasei sneered. "Much like you," she replied, "Actually if you expect me to simply hand this over then you're something more than absentminded, fool."

"Oh, it's just like you to act all high and mighty just because you—"

"SHUT UP!" Tora roared and drew out her blades.

* * *

AN: I apologize for typos or anything like that!

Ok, if you're confused about the little opening italics, I've been adding that bit to all of the chapters. It's a voice… ooOOOoooo (does spooky voice) It's probably obvious who's voice it is. And I brought red haired Kurama back! I still have plans for him and his really demonic counter part, lol so dun worry.

Pretty please, REVIEW, would ya? Much, much thanks! I'll update sooner if I get at least 4 reviews, otherwise an update will again take a while… (pouts)

Wolf: Okay, Hiei! How's about now we offer the cookies!

Hiei: …

Wolf: Huh? What! You ate them all! How could you?

Hiei: (whips out katana)

Wolf: Heheh… never mind… That's okay… (runs and hides)


	6. Almost Part II

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, a few other minor OCs and this story!_

Chapter 06 – Almost Part II  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_Can you really handle anything now...?  
Can you...?_

* * *

Broken pieces of wall burst through the open air with Tora floating in the middle of it. Inside her stomach felt as though it'd caved in after that powerful counterattack the female kitsune had just used on her. She hit the ground across the valley faster than her mind could take in. Her back skidded against its dry surface, tearing out roots from trees and chopping boulders in half. When she came to a stop, she cringed and rubbed her head, squinting at the slightly blurred sight before her.

"Damn shrew…" she muttered groggily with a fit of coughing. Her vision sharpened again and she could see that the hive had not simply gone quiet again. Flashes in varying colors of lights were still going off in the room she'd just been thrown out of. "Oh… crud…" the fureasei groaned and rose up to her feet.

"ROSE WHIP!" Kurama called and brought out his signature weapon.

"AAH!" Botan cried and scrambled out of the battle exchange.

Hiei was already attacking the female kitsune with his katana, issuing a flurry of slashes and stabs. He grunted in frustration that the girl was able to weave right out of the way without breaking a sweat. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw that Kurama was ready for a try and flitted out of the way just as he finally made contact with the witch's skin. He'd drawn a trickle of blood out of one little scratch on her arm.

"Aaahg… Hey! That wasn't cool," the female kitsune squealed at the little offensive mark and started dodging Kurama's rose whip.

The jaganshi growled. The little wench was mocking him. He couldn't allow her to get away with that.

Carefully he watched the red head's movement, looking for his moment to reenter on the other side of the female kitsune and finish her off.

_What are you waiting for…? _

Hiei raised his brows, dashing his eyes about the room as if searching for a culprit. Even though he knew who had just said that…

Botan was watching from a seat on the ground where she had fallen with her hands held to her mouth. She could hardly watch the battle. Not only were the competitor's movements so fast that you could barely tell there were any others in the room at all but from what she could see, the female kitsune actually had the upper hand. But why wasn't she attacking?

The female kitsune laughed. "So, you're actually Youko, isn't that right?" she said in a conversational tone to the red head as he made single slashes at her in crisscrossing patterns. "Hm… Well, you're cute but I still wouldn't mind seeing that glorious silver hair again."

"The story of my life," Kurama replied absently. He'd finally gotten her into the corner and reared back to throw one lightning bolt of an attack. He didn't expect a certain fire demon to suddenly reenter the battle there. The red head gasped and leapt back from them. Apparently Hiei wanted the finishing blow… But when Kurama looked into the femme kitsune's eyes, he didn't see fear as he would've expected. There was a twinkle in them—delight.

"Hiei wait!" the red head shouted, a second too late as the jaganshi made a quick movement to attack.

"HIYAA!" the kitsune cried and used the same counter attack she had on Tora. Hiei was sent through the air, a spinning gust of wind digging into his stomach and then disintegrating as he passed the windows. Midair, he heard a groan that wasn't his own.

Tora had just gone to _catch_ the jaganshi when she felt that familiar burst of power vibe through the atmosphere. Through his cringing pain, Hiei could just make out the view of Tora right behind him. They both hit the far ground, tearing a line through the ground right next to the one made by solo Tora, though this line was shorter.

Hiei slowly got to his feet, his head readjusting to gravity. Things steadied and he looked down at the fureasei whose face was twisted in pain. "You idiot… What were you thinking?"

Tora could just hear the jaganshi's unthankful remark but was too dizzy to retort.

The jaganshi gritted his teeth, ready to chew out the girl for such idiotic behavior when part of the hive behind him just exploded. He whirled in its direction. Puffs of red, white, and a sickly gray hovered around the decaying part of the structure. His eyes bulged out but then that annoying kitsune girl burst out of the thick smoke with Kurama on hot pursuit.

"Hmph… Where'd the baka—"

"Woah, did you see that?" Botan exclaimed, appearing on her oar hovering next to Hiei's head. The jaganshi frowned, giving the grim reaper a stink eye for sneaking up on him. She was too preoccupied with astonishment to notice though. "That girl has some unusual power… Have you ever known a fox youkai to use _bombing_ demonic powers?"

"OUCH!" howled the femme kitsune. The two looked down in the bowl shaped valley to see that Kurama's rose whip had caught the girl's leg for a second. "That's it! I'm going to just get that key and get away from you jerks!"

"Uh-oh…" Botan muttered. And as she did, the kitsune set her eyes on the blue-haired girl and was already heading for her. The grim reaper quickly shot up into the air just as the kitsune arrived on the cliff side.

"Come back here!" she shouted, shaking her fists at Botan. "Iieeee!"

Hiei didn't hesitate to attack her, slashing his blade several times to ward her off. He sheathed his blade as the girl stopped at a distance with a scowl on her face.

She growled, "Grr… Fine… I'll let you go for now… But you're not going to get to use that key anyway! The Ten of Makai will be waiting for you if you try!" With that, the girl finally departed in a flash.

Kurama dropped on the platform just as she left and sighed. "I guess we'll be expecting to see her again…"

"Do you know who that was?" Hiei inquired flatly.

The red head nodded. "Yes… That was Shuuki. She's another elite member of the Ten of Makai."

"So, what's your analysis on the situation? Will we be seeing more of your friends?"

"They're not my _friends_, Hiei…"

"They _were_ though, weren't they?"

Kurama went silent, looking to the ground with an ambiguous stare.

"Were you a Ten of Makai member?" Tora muttered groggily as she stood to her feet. She reeled back and forth a bit, holding a hand to her head.

The red head looked to her with concern. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, of course… Now, how about an answer?"

"Well…" He paused, idly brushing the soot from the explosion off his sleeves.

Botan floated down from the sky and hopped off her oar next the trio, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "Good, she's finally gone, huh? So we get to keep this… key?" she said, pulling out the key from around her neck and examining the hideous looking thing.

"I suppose we do," Kurama replied, glad to change the subject.

The two jaganshi demons exchanged suspicious looks but decided to let their inquiry drop for the moment.

"What's it for? Wait, you said it was for Usotsuki's… 'chamber', right Tora?"

The fureasei held her tongue; the words Shuuki had said were still fresh in her thoughts…

Hiei took note of that. _Hn. Should I be asking if _you_ are a Ten of Makai member?_

Tora leered at him. _My, aren't we the inquisitive little demon? _

_Hn. I'll excuse that one, Iginaku. _The two engaged in a staring contest, shutting out any other voices.

Kurama shook his head. "Ten of Makai 'Chambers' are where these youkai store some of their most valuable items. Some of them actually keep Ooras in their Chambers…"

"Ooras! So, does that mean the Aura we're looking for could be…"

"Possibly. But we may not even get to use it. Shuuki and Usotsuki could have already informed the other Ten of Makai members of our possession of the key and if they haven't, we still wouldn't be in time to get there before them…"

"We could get there before it's too late…" Tora disagreed, "We'll just have to use the same quicker means of travel as we did before… but only this time, try not to stray from the paths…"

Botan sniffed indignantly since it seemed like Tora made a deliberate implication toward her. "Excuuuuse me—but _I_ didn't stray away from the path. _I_ was the only one who actually… Hey! Are you listening?" she broke off just as the two jaganshis disappeared. "Wait! Where are we supposed to—"

"It looks like we're going northeast now…" Kurama said, looking blankly to the distance.

Botan's brows creased into a frown. "Are you okay, Kurama? You didn't get hurt in that explosion, did you?"

"Oh… No. No, I'm fine. What about you?"

"I-I'm okay… It was just a few bruises but they're already healing…"

"Good… Alright, be careful Botan. Just remember—if you need me…"

"I won't hesitate to call!" the spirit girl finished brightly.

Kurama smiled and then hurried to catch the other two.

Her smile slowly fell limp. "Kurama… I hope you're not trying to bottle up pain…" Botan said with solemn. She heaved a sigh and hopped back onto her oar, jetting after the others' dust.

* * *

The blue haired girl was drifting dreamily below the clouds, the top of her head scraping into them occasional and getting damp with the gathered rain inside them. She could just see the other three darting over the terrain far below her, looking much like small fleas from her position. They had traveled into an area where the lands were not dry—no, much the opposite. These grounds were plagued with mudslides and creepy marshes where anything was liable to pop up.

Botan worried every time she saw the trio skipping over these marshes but then hurried to remind herself that they were very strong demons. But then again… they were on the A-class level. At least, that's what Botan had figured—no one had told her. Kurama and Hiei were S-class though and that put an end to Botan's vacillating.

Now, she was left to wonder about other things…

_Usotsuki… he said something unusual… _Botan thought, recalling the conversation the panther demon had with Youko. _"How dare you set foot on my turf… And after being banished from the Ten of Makai?" That's what Usotsuki said… Does that mean…! _"Kurama…" she whispered while looking down at the dot she knew was him. _Were you a Ten of Makai member, Kurama? _

The wind made a swipe at the grim reaper, making her do a barrel roll. "Woah! Sheesh… that was… Huh?" she muttered, arching a brow. She stared at a spot in the clouds where she thought she'd just seen some black blur shoot up into the clouds. There was nothing there anymore… if there was anything. She shook her head, trying to rid herself of the odd feeling of being watched.

Down on the ground, the other three demons were on edge as well, each dashing their eyes in every direction, expecting some youkais to emerge out of nowhere and ambush them.

Hiei groaned to himself, annoyed at these silly apprehensions. If any of those pathetic youkais wanted to attack, he could certainly handle them. "Tora!" he called. The yasha leapt a little closer to him. "How much farther?"

"Over the waterfalls… Usotsuki's Chamber will be just below them," she answered.

As she did, Hiei could hear the rumble of them. He hadn't noticed the rivers far to his left before but now they were curving into the trio's path.

They found the edge and stopped there, observing the long drop before them, slightly able to see the details of the low ground through the grey mist.

"So, it's _behind_ the falls? How original," the fire demon muttered.

"Actually they're built beneath the pool surface. Time for a little swim…"

"_They're_, as in plural…? Is there more than one Chamber here?"

Tora nodded. "Yes, Usotsuki and two other Ten of Makai members share this location. It doesn't matter though, we don't have the… Do you hear that?"

Kurama furrowed his brows, turning to look behind them. "Yes… Someone's coming. Ah!" he gasped as something struck him in the ribs. He doubled over, wheezing for the breath that'd just been knocked from his lungs.

Hiei and Tora frantically searched the area. There was no one else in sight. Then the fureasei looked to where Kurama was hunched over, finding a black frizbee object toppling back and forth next to him.

"Oh... it's that little twerp," Tora growled irritably. "Jareru…"

"A Ten of Makai member?"

The fureasei nodded but broke into a coughing fit, swept off her feet to the ground much like Kurama. It was not caused in the same way though…

"What? What the hell's wrong?"

A glowing red ring ignited around Tora's neck, the yasha clawing a hand at it futilely.

"Hey, snap out of it!" the jaganshi demanded angrily. But wait… he knew this mark… He'd seen it before on Kyuushuu! Kurama had just realized this as well apparently for he jerked himself to his feet and hurried to the yasha's side.

"Tora! Don't let it overtake you!" the red head demanded, letting a hand hover over her shoulder out of fear of touching her. If anyone touched her in this state, someone was sure to be mauled.

The yasha choked, tears forcing out of her eyes. She slammed her head forth to the ground while trying to dig her clawed fingers into the rocky surface.

"Kurama what's happening…" the jaganshi began but then he spotted something gliding toward them from the sky—and it definitely wasn't Botan unless she recently acquired more "Grim Reaper-ish" clothing. The creature was clad in pure black robes with extra matching rags wrapped around its entire head. "We have to move!"

Kurama looked up to what Hiei was talking about, his eyes widening at the sight and his body feeling frozen over. "N-no… No! We can't move Tora when she's… HIEI STOP!" the red head shouted when he saw that the jaganshi had actually picked up the choking fureasei and bound away. Kurama could only follow suit and fled from the creature as well, going in a different direction in hopes of leading the floating phantom away from the other two.

_But Hiei doesn't know how to help Tora's condition… _Kurama thought, glancing over his shoulder to see the eerie creature following him like a homing missile. _I know only one person who makes appearances like this… _The red head leapt into some tangles of dead trees in the marshes, slipping through them with considerable ease.

"Youko Kurama…" the creature said in an echoic voice, "Is that really you?"

Kurama's arm got ensnared in some of the dagger like branches. He tugged at it, having to rip half of his sleeve off and then turned and turned, trying to find a way out of the trap he'd created for himself.

Then, the most horrible thing the kitsune youkai ever heard shattered in his ears.

"_KURAMA!_" screamed Botan's voice from somewhere unseen.

The red head immediately looked to the eerie creature floating over head outside the tangles.

The creature laughed mirthlessly. "Ah, so she IS a creature you care for, huh? What has become of the great Youko Kurama? Amazing how much time can change us…"

"You don't need to hurt her!"

"Do we? Will you surrender yourself to us, Kurama? If you do… we'll of course, set the girl free, unharmed… What's that I sense…?" the creature mumbled, his body turning away from the red head.

It drifted out of the way just as a familiar spiky haired jaganshi darted into view, slicing through the air with his katana. The fire demon launched from one of the dead trees to try another attack. He growled, "You'd best hand over Tora or I'll sever you to pieces!"

Kurama raised his brows. Tora was captured? While Hiei distracted the drifting creature, the red head quickly retraced his steps back out into the open. He let Botan's voice ring through his head again, pegging where she may be located. With one last look to see if Hiei was holding up okay, he nodded and then went off to search for the grim reaper and fureasei.

* * *

AN: I don't know why, but this chapter seemed shorter… I must've read it too fast… (nervous laugh) Sorry for typos or any such things...As always…

**Please review! **

And I thank those of you who _have_ been reviewing! You guys are so great… (sniffles) I'll update again as soon as I can after… 5 reviews… Don't holler at me! I'm not going to keep increasing the number EVERY chapter! So, yeah… 5 reviews and I'll update asap!

Wolf: Hiei, how's about you get a fanfic penname and review too!

Hiei: No.

Wolf: Right, 'cause anything remotely social is just not your thing, eh?

Hiei: I have a katana with your name on it.

Wolf: Really! Oh, that's so cool…! Oh, you mean… Eep! (screams and runs away)


	7. Almost Part III

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, a few other minor OCs and this story!_

Chapter 07 – Almost Part III  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_Don't die yet…  
But if you do…  
You just weren't up for the task…_

* * *

Botan didn't like the change of location. Not to mention her vision was completely hazy and there was a horrible stench of burnt skin on the air. From what she could tell, she was in a cave, just able to make out the dank surfaces by the light of a bonfire. There were two others in the place, standing up on the other side of the fire and conversing over something. 

"So, where'd that little brat go?" said a familiar voice Botan recognized as that koyoote youkai's who she'd met before.

The other was Usotsuki's. "He's tailing Kurama, I believe. He should be still or else he would've come back."

"Maybe he's dead."

"I doubt it. He may be a fledgling but he's not senseless."

The koyoote sighed. "…Hm… Did you check that girl for your key?"

"My key?"

"Yes, Shuuki said that this girl was in possession of it."

Usotsuki gasped, recoiling from the koyoote.

"Don't worry. It seems that Kurama already disclosed her name to his group."

"Oh… Doesn't it bother you that one of our elite members is already dead? These four only arrived a day ago, right?"

"It was due to his own stupidity. I'm glad Kyuushuu's dead."

"…"

"Anyway... just fetch your key from that girl."

Botan flinched. She wriggled about, finding that her hands were tied behind her back just like her feet. _Oh, no… Oh, no he's coming… I can't let him have this… _

As the panther demon's blurry figure neared, stepping in Botan's vicinity, she quickly spun on her back and kicked her legs forth as hard as she could. Usotsuki wailed, hot embers and ash splashing into the air. He had just fallen back on the bonfire.

"You moron!" the koyoote shouted and went to pull the roasting panther out of the fire.

With her vision impaired, Botan still looked for a means to untie herself. As far as she could tell, there was only one way to get the ropes off her legs…

She gulped a lump in her throat and then inched over closer to a flaming log that had fallen out of the fire place. _This is going to hurt… _she thought, dropping her legs closer to the fire. She squeaked as the rope lit aflame, the fire quickly disintegrating the rope to dust. After that, she rolled from side to side to put out the remaining flames. All the while, the koyoote was still too occupied with the screaming panther to notice the grim reaper's escape in progress.

_Ouch, ouch, ouch! _Parts of her jeans had dissipated and left her skin to scorch a bit. Luckily, she got the fire out in a few seconds and then bolted up to her feet. She bounced against the wall a few times as she rounded the bonfire and struggling youkais. The opening to the cave was easily discernable amidst all the gloom much to the grim reaper's relief.

Just as she reached the opening and thought that her nightmare would soon be over, her feet just dropped beneath her like cinder blocks. She had stepped right off a steep mountain side apparently. The blue haired girl screamed, saying silent prayers as the wind whistled harshly past her. She squeezed her eyes shut. This was it… _What a way to go… Huh? _

"Oof!" she grunted. Her body had just hit something and it wasn't the jagged surface of Makai…

"Are you okay, Botan?"

"Kurama!" she breathed, able to see some flecks of his red hair in all the haziness.

"It's okay now… We should go get you healed… Ah!"

Next thing, they were both tumbling down the mountainside. Botan still couldn't quite tell what was going on as the blurs swirled and swirled before her. She let out a yelp when her side impacted a jagged rock on the seemingly endless descent. Now, she was really hurting. Every time that wounded part on her side scraped against the mountain side, it felt nearly as bad as if someone were mercilessly kicking her.

The grim reaper hardly noticed when she came to a rude stop in some bushes at the foot of the mountain. She coughed a little, feeling an ugly metallic taste in her mouth that was sure to be blood. While her mind reeled from all the pain she'd just been issued in what seemed like seconds, she subconsciously began calling out for Kurama.

"K-Kurama… Kurama?" she croaked.

Worry struck her. What had happened to him? What if he was hurt even more badly than she? What if he was…

"Kurama…"

* * *

"AHAHAHAHA! You asinine creature… You're going to die if you keep this up!" cackled the floating black phantom. 

Hiei gritted his teeth and shot up after the airborne thing again only to miss for the hundredth time. It was driving the jaganshi crazy. While he was fiddling with this stupid creature, all of the others could be dead…

_What's wrong…? Is the big mean, youkai too much for you…? _

"He's not a normal youkai," Hiei hissed to the voice in his head.

_Isn't it…? Maybe you should take a closer look… _

Without a second thought, the fire demon tore off his headband and opened his third eye.

"Ooooh… We're getting serious now, are we?" the phantom-like youkai mocked, drifting side to side like a pendulum swing.

Hiei smiled deviously. "Hn… So, that's it…"

"What? Do you think you know the secrets of the universe now?"

"I know something about you!" he shouted while launching from the ground again. As he neared, he darted to the side, repeating the maneuver until he rendered the phantom prone. The opportunity opened finally when the creature was turned the wrong direction. "Too bad," Hiei muttered with a grin and struck the phantom across the back.

A scourging red mark appeared, igniting another across it to form an "X" in a chain reaction. Various designs lit up all over the creature until the robes burst to pieces, revealing the true demonic form behind them.

It certainly was a youkai but not a male demon as the voice had indicated. A taller, neon green haired yasha stood before him hunched over like a praying mantis. She was wearing a colorful ninja outfit with those red markings all over her skin.

She laughed—in a much higher pitched girly voice. "Well, you've taken me out of my cocoon. Color me impressed. No one has ever done that in the longest time!"

Actually, she was more like a feminine joker.

"Well, those Jagan eyes really are powerful aren't they? I got rid of mine though…" Hiei arched a brow at the yasha's comment. "Yes, that's right mister. I actually _didn't_ want it!"

Hiei narrowed his eyes. There was a familiar scent on the woman, something terribly familiar to…

"Do you want to know why?"

"N—"

"Because of that wretched sister of mine! You know her… Iginaku Tora?" Hiei couldn't help but let his jaw go slightly agape. This… oddball _youkai_ was actually related to Tora? "Yes, yes… Can't you see the resemblance? Ha! Obviously, I got all the looks though huh? And the brains too, huh? Anyway, back to my story—"

"Where's Tora?"

"Hey! Mister rude pants! I was talking here!"

"And I really don't care about your stories. Just tell me where Tora is right now."

The yasha blinked her yellow eyes (the only physical characteristic that appeared similar to Tora) and then threw her head up and laughed. "Ohoho… You slay me, mister! You really do… Teeheehee…"

Hiei growled, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword. Killing this idiotic screwball wasn't going to bother anyone… There was no way that Tora would mind either.

"Ahaha—hahaha! Hm… Do you hear? Oh, listen!" the yasha said eagerly and cupped a hand behind her ear. "Ouch… those collars really hurt, you know? Actually they're supposed to kill by sundown… Do you hear my sister's agonizing screams? It almost hurts to listen… _almost_."

"Enough of this," Hiei announced murderously and flitted forth to the yasha with his katana ready to strike.

"VENOM!" the yasha shouted crazily. Her forearms turned green and some glassy substance dripped down them like icicles. "Now, here comes the FUN part!"

Hiei's katana clashed with the yasha's new blade arms numerous times as they bounced back and forth through the marshes. The jaganshi's natural footing found the parts of the soggy ground where he wouldn't be sucked into the goop with ease. This didn't give him the upper hand though for the yasha was able to do the same thing, a twisted grin on her tattooed face the whole time.

She was actually as unusual a combatant as her appearance. She stabbed at the fire demon just like the insect she seemed to mimic, poking down at him from a high raised wrist stance. It was utterly annoying how she projected this childish, playful mien—an insult to the jaganshi.

Things weren't exactly looking good for the fire demon. And when he really started thinking about it, what the heck were these demons doing on the A-class level of Makai when they were handling Hiei with arguably matched prowess?

"Haha! Not bad, not bad, mister!" the yasha chirped, ducking from a long horizontal chop and then attempting to retaliate with a forward lance.

Hiei drew in a quick breath as he bent his back inward to evade the attack. He quickly whirled around, hacking away at the woman with malice.

"Ay!" she squeaked and put up her blade arms to block the flurry of slashes. Showers of sparks emitted from the impacts until Hiei threw a final guard breaking blow. This one hit right on target, making the yasha stagger off her footing and into the soggy marsh grounds. "Oh, man… Lookit this! You've ruined my… Oh," she said with owl eyes, staring at the pointed blade that had appeared in front of her face.

The greenish blades on her arms melted away, the yasha slowly bringing her yellow eyes to the jaganshi's face above her.

"Now, where is Tora?"

* * *

"What a damned mess… Did you find the blue-haired girl, yet?" 

"No, but I found Kurama," replied an early teen looking youkai.

"Well, where is he?"

"Um… I-I couldn't carry him back…"

"Why not?"

"Er…"

"Because he would've been killed by me," said Hiei, side stepping from behind the kid. His dangerous crimson eyes looked up to the koyoote across the clearing, his glinting katana held to the nape of the young youkai.

The koyoote growled quietly, contempt in his thunder cloud eyes. "Unbelievable…" he murmured to himself and then said, "I suppose you're here for… her." The youkai stepped aside to reveal Tora on the ground, looking like she was falling asleep.

"Maybe."

"You are… I did have my questions for this disgrace but obviously I wasn't expecting you… I just don't understand it…" he muttered irritably and turned to pick up Tora by an arm.

She stood on her feet limply and was pushed over next to the fire demon.

"There."

Hiei narrowed his eyes and shoved his foot against the kid youkai's back, sending him over to the koyoote. After a last scowl for the koyoote, he slung Tora over his shoulder and departed the area.

As he bound through the dead, darkening forest, he kept dashing his eyes from side to side, watching out for more interference by that band of youkais. _That seemed a little too easy… _he thought to himself. The red glowing collar was no longer around the fureasei's neck so the Ten of Makai had probably disabled it. But could they reactivate it any time?

Tora groaned a bit, coming out of her lethargic condition.

The fire demon came upon the area around the pools below the falls. This was where he had left Kurama… The red head was no where in sight now though… _Probably went to look for the spirit girl. _He inspected the area once more and then carefully set down the yasha, sitting down next to her. His gaze stayed on the forest he'd just come from.

He then flinched when a presence was detected behind him…

He jerked his head in the direction, his muscles relaxing again when he saw the red head land on the low platform with Botan in his arms. Both of them looked really messy, bloodied, dirtied, torn… burnt.

"Hello Hiei…" Kurama said tiredly and casually paced around the pool, finding a spot on the other side where he followed suit of Hiei—setting Botan down and sitting by her side.

The jaganshi took a breath and readjusted the headband around his eye. _Hn… I wonder how many more of these amusing trials I can look forward to… _

Kurama sighed, wincing at the twinges in his ribs brought on by the merely taking deep breaths. He started rinsing his hands off in the cool water of the pools and then busied himself with healing Botan's burns.

The spirit girl opened her heavy eyelids, tears welling up in them when she saw Kurama clear as day. His emerald eyes glanced up from his work, catching Botan's and then smiling. "Botan…" he acknowledged quietly and then returned to the healing.

"So, you have a sister," Hiei muttered as Tora rubbed her eyes of sleep.

"Huh?" she mumbled dazedly, resting a hand on her aching forehead.

Hiei sniffed. "She's a half sister, huh?"

"Do you know her name?"

"No… So, you'd best not say it."

Tora grumbled and rose up on her elbows. "Alright, alright… I admit that was foolish of me… Amazing how a plain word can land a demon in a mess of trouble, isn't it?"

"That coyote might've killed you."

"You wonder why he didn't?"

"Do you feel any more pain?"

The fureasei raised a brow, looking to the motionless fire demon. "Do you care?"

"I almost lost y…" Hiei began, letting the statement dissolve as Tora became quickly alerted. He shook his head slightly and muttered, "Nothing."

"You almost lost… nothing? Okay then…" the fureasei said with an odd expression and sat up. That wasn't a very good idea though either. Her head felt cumbersome and decided to fall against the fire demon's shoulder. She felt completely numb, too drained to care and Hiei actually made a nice pillow.

The jaganshi's eyes were wide, still staring at the forest before him. Carefully, he turned his head to see that the yasha was sleeping already. Seeing as he wasn't bursting into flames at her touch, he cocked a secret half-smile and relaxed again.

* * *

AN: (yawn) Oooof… I'm so tired… I actually spent a considerable amount of time with this chapter! Anywho, that's the last part of the three part… er… part… Not the end of the entire story though! The Ten of Makai aren't done, not by a long shot! And there's still much more romance to bloom! Eh… that sounded corny, heheh… As for the chapter, a few of the transitions seemed a bit rushed so I might go back and fix those… Okay… 

As always, PLEASE REVIEW! Reviews are so cool. I like reviews! Nice reviews or constructive criticism please! Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'll update asap after… 6 reviews! I know, I know! I increased it but it's only by one, not much, heh…

Hiei: Where are the cookies?

Wolf: Hm? Cookies? Aw… have you become a cookie monster?

Hiei: (bares teeth)

Wolf: Eh… I really need to learn how to keep my mouth shut…

Hiei: That can be arranged.

Wolf: Ulp…


	8. Auras

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, a few other minor OCs and this story!_

Chapter 08 – Auras (or Ooras)  
Written by: Amber M

EDITS: I only made a change to one sentence. One of Kurama's lines was inaccurate; I accidentally made it seem that deity and god were different! So, I put in the word I meant to use: demigod. Thanks Blood Stained Sorceress for pointing that out for me!

* * *

_How will you react when you truly lose her…?  
__Nothing lasts forever…_

* * *

"Hey, wake up, baka!"

"Hm…?" Tora groaned, her eyes drearily opening only to shut again. "Five more minutes…"

"Wha? Grr…" the jaganshi growled and walked over to the pool side. He looked down into the depths, able to see faint outlines of carved vault-like doors at the bottom. "Hn…"

"What's the matter, Hiei?" Kurama asked, walking up next to the fire demon.

Hiei shot him a heated glare. "What do you think? We need to get out of here as soon as we can before your friends come after us again."

The red head sighed. "As I've already told you, they are not my friends. They _might_ have been long ago but not anymore…"

"Hmph… As long as we're on the subject. Maybe you should just tell me all the member names you know… so that certain others will not foolishly suffer punishment."

Kurama looked over to Tora, sleeping soundly on the ground. He smiled. "Were you worried about her, Hiei?"

"How many do you know?" Hiei asked stiffly, ignoring the red head's question.

"I was actually… hoping that maybe another Ten of Makai member would make the same mistake Kyuushuu did and disable themselves by disclosing another name…"

"Are they all as stupid as that? I can't believe that baka fureasei actually said one…" he muttered, leering off to the side.

"Hm… I suppose not… Alright—you know Kyuushuu, Usotsuki, Shuuki, and Jareru. You met the koyoote youkai as well, right?" Hiei nodded. "Well, his name is Shibui."

"And what about Tora's sister?"

"Hm?"

"The one beneath the black robes."

Kurama looked on in astonishment. "She is Tora's sister? I didn't know that…"

"Her name?"

"Oh, yes… That's Ryuuri… You actually… _saw_ her though—with your own eyes?"

Hiei snorted. "Yes. And to be quite honest, she looked like a clown. I take back what I say about the Spirit Detective and the others because clearly there is another band of freaks better deserving of the 'Circus" title."

Kurama sighed, chuckling slightly at the remark though. He then looked off to the shady forest of which Hiei had come from not too long ago. "Shibui… he was only a short distance in that forest, right?" Hiei nodded. "It probably _isn't_ a good idea to linger then… Perhaps we should… Hiei, what are you doing?" the red head cut off as he saw Hiei approach the sleeping Botan.

Hiei sneered. "She has the key doesn't she?" he asked flatly and then turned to Kurama. "Get it for me."

The red head blinked. "Hiei, you can't be thinking of going down there by yourself? If the Aura is actually inside the chamber, you might not be able to withstand her presence…"

"What the hell are you talking about?"

Hesitating, Kurama downcast his eyes to the pool. This was why he had returned to the demon world in the first place, to inform Hiei of the dangers involving this Aura. But the information was hard to admit after all that had happened to himself and Hiei in the past years. They had only recently pieced together their lives and with this Oora all of it could be destroyed…

"Didn't we agree that it isn't wise to linger here?" Hiei grumbled for the prolonged silence.

Kurama flinched and heaved a breath. Yes, Hiei had to know now and what the fire demon did with the information… well, Kurama would still aid him in any way he could. "Alright… I'll begin with telling you what Auras are…" he said, turning his head to make sure Hiei was listening. And he was, so he went on, "They… They're actually humans… in a sense… Well, they're composed of several human souls."

_Humans souls…?_

"When a Ningen woman and a male Spirit's soul and spirit energy are so well compatible, the female is miraculously made to conceive on the day that the two's stars align…"

Hiei raised a brow. "So… this is basically the same thing as when a youth receives 'the talk'. Thanks, but I know where babies come from. What relevance has this to…"

"Just a moment Hiei—I'm getting to that. These Auras are somewhat like vessels of Limbo. Because of the way they were created, being the rare offspring of a Ningen and Spirit, they are predestined with a role similar to that of the Grim Reaper. Only, more often than not, Ooras tend to change these 'roles' they were born into and well… they _steal_ souls before the Ningen's time is up."

"And why would they do that?"

"It makes them more powerful."

Hiei snorted as if to say "of course". While the details of an Aura were sort of confusing, the end of the explanation was no surprise. Humans… such predictable creatures.

The fire demon turned his eyes to the pool. "This concerns me how?"

Kurama gave that familiar nervous flinch, awkwardly scanning the grounds for distraction. However, there was only the soft breathing of the two sleeping girls and the sound of the falls punching into the other end of the pool. Another sigh and then he said, "Ooras which stray from the path… and gain enough Human souls will then seek even more powerful souls…" (He glanced up to see Hiei's eyes slowly hardening as expected.) "…Youkai souls…"

"Pft, then tell me _why_ exactly are we hunting this creature that only wishes to destroy me?" Hiei replied gruffly.

The red-head shifted his weight. "There aren't many Ooras in any of the worlds anymore… Most have been executed."

"Are you trying to make me feel _sorry_ for them?"

"No…"

"Well, I have another question then: why would these Ten of Makai _keep_ Auras? Don't tell me they make good pets?" he said, still sounding snippy.

"Isn't it obvious?" Kurama said simply, earning utter silence from the jaganshi. "Auras who stray, seek more and more power. It's said that an Aura can gather enough power to make an S-Class demon seem weak…"

Hiei balked slightly. "And the Ten of Makai members… they want to take this power for their own once ripened…"

"Yes."

"Hn. Why would they be able to steal such power? Shouldn't the Auras be the ones to fear?"

Kurama sighed. "…The youkai… chain Ooras down before the Ooras reach an A-class demon power level, using special 'enchantments' if you will. The Ooras are kept in lockdown until they've reached their maximum power limit and then the youkai can suck that power from them…"

"If that's true—"

"But…" Kurama intervened, "…the youkai must have a demonic energy that is compatible with the Aura's spirit energy. While it may seem odd that spirit energy and demon energy can actually be compatible—Yusuke is one example of how that works."

Hiei growled inwardly, leering off to the side again. "Alright, so Auras are vessels of a power which just continues to collect until a demon with compatibility takes it. They're kept chained down until then. Fine, _that_ makes enough sense so why don't you just tell me this—how does any of this involve me! Does this Aura that annoys me just want _my _power?"

The red head fell silent once more, staring solemnly at the ground. "Yes, it's your demonic energy… It must be compatible with this Aura, although I am not sure just how compatible it is…"

"How could one tell?" Hiei asked coolly, putting on a composed face even though that bit of information was slightly unnerving.

"Have you heard her voice?"

"Are all Auras females?"

"No. But if an Aura made contact with you, you being a male, then the Aura is certain to be female."

"Oh."

"So, have you heard her voice or not?" Kurama asked again, turning concerned eyes to the jaganshi.

Hiei stayed quiet, unsure if he wanted to hear anything more. His eyes fell on Tora and he thought of when he'd been possessed. She said that she had had past dealings with Ooras but if that meant she had gone through what Hiei was going through now or if she had been a youkai that was looking to take the Oora power for her own was unknown.

Kurama's jaw locked in the hesitance. "Hiei… this is important… We should find out just how compatible you are with this Aura…"

"For what?" Hiei snapped, "To decide whether or not I'll die?" Kurama took his eyes away, and that said it all. "Of course. So how would that be determined? Is it if I am _too _compatible with this Aura or if I'm not compatible with her enough?"

"The first."

"How stupid."

"But that's how it is… I believe it was made that way so an already powerful demon could not obtain powers of a demigod… or even a true deity perhaps… And the Aura doesn't disconnect from their demon counter part until…" Kurama trailed off broodingly.

_One dies… How typical… _Hiei thought. On the other hand, this meant that he truly was a powerful demon. Usually, that would bring upon a boost of his ego but in this case, it could also mean something quite bad. He didn't need a second opinion. He was certain that his demonic energy was perfectly compatible with the Aura's spirit energy. It was just something solidly known in his mind.

Without warning, he snatched the strange key from Botan's neck by the chain and dove into the pool.

Kurama gasped, looking frantically into the clear water to see the jaganshi swimming quickly toward the chamber doors. After a quick glance around the surroundings to see that no other youkai were about, he dove in as well.

* * *

"Oooh… It's barely day time yet… so tell Koenma I'll get to work in a… Huh?" Botan said dreamily when she sat up to find herself in a strange Makai locality. "Oh! Right… Er… Kurama? Hiei? …_Youko?_" she muttered confusedly, only seeing Tora on the other side. "Sleeping?"

The spirit girl yawned and then lazily pulled herself to her feet. Cautiously she glanced from left to right as she tiptoed over to the sleeping fureasei.

Creeping up next to her she whispered, "Tora… Tora." When the yasha didn't make any response, Botan went to prodding the femme demon's back with her white boot. "Tor—AAAH!" she squealed as Tora sprung to her feet with her sword drawn at the spirit girl's neck.

Botan laughed nervously. "Heheheh… Good, you're awake!" she piped while carefully raising her hands up to block the sharp twin blade. "T-t-t-the boys… seem to have taken off somewhere… D-do you know where they went?"

Tora regarded her with a lackadaisical expression and then sheathed her swords. "They're not here?"

"Well… I don't see them…" she said, looking around. She gasped. "You don't think they abandoned us! Or… what if they were captured or something!"

"Calm yourself. They probably just went to investigate a noise," the femme jaganshi said with a trace of doubt on her voice.

Botan caught that doubt and recoiled. "You don't really believe that, do you! Oh… I hope nothing's happened to them…" she murmured and started pacing the ground.

Tora immediately became annoyed with the nervousness Botan was exuding. Her brow twitched while she gritted her teeth. "Grr… Just stop that! They're _S-class_ demons; I'm sure they can handle anything they come across here."

"Oh, yeah? What about the Ten of Makai! Exactly how dangerous are they and… why can they exhibit powers of S-class demons!" the spirit girl cried, flailing her arms into the air and almost throwing herself off balance.

Tora turned her head distractedly to something in the forest, making Botan go on edge again.

"What?" she whispered hastily.

The fureasei pursed here lips, leering suspiciously. _I think we're being watched…_ she said in telepathy to the blue-haired girl, who shuddered and started biting her nails upon receiving the message. The two started backing away from the ominous forest with their eyes darting back and forth. They had stopped with their heels just on the edge of the pool when they both let out shrieks.

Leaping forth, backing away from whatever had just burst out of the water, they let out sighs of relief when they saw a familiar red head.

"Kurama!" Botan breathed, holding a hand to her pounding heart. "Kind of a funny time to go for a swim, don't you think?"

"Visited the chamber?" Tora asked with a quickly regained calm (even though she remained tensed up).

Kurama hauled his drenched self out of the water and got to his feet, hunched over and holding his stomach as if in pain. Botan hurried to support him, a look of worry on her face. "Are you okay, Kurama?"

"We should've expected that they'd have something waiting for us down there…" the red head puffed.

Tora furrowed her brows. "A youkai?"

"Yes… Usotsuki again… I thought I had seen something earlier when Hiei went to get you—he can become a shadow and slip by unnoticed to even the keenest eye…" Kurama murmured, wincing of pains in his abdomen.

The spirit girl frowned and started guiding Kurama to a spot on the ground. "Sit down and I'll take care of that wound…"

The femme jaganshi watched the surface of the water expectantly. "Where's Hiei?"

"Blowing off steam."

"_Blowing off steam?_" Tora repeated irritably.

"Well, he doesn't much care for surprises," Kurama laughed, quickly having to cease as it hurt however. Botan put a warning hand to his chest too and they both seemed to be caught in each other's eyes again. The moment was broken when the bothersome pain kicked the red head's nerves and he winced.

Tora had watched with a brow raised, amused by the display. She shook her head and returned to watching the pool. The yasha fell backward when she was surprised by a second drenched form standing right there in front of her.

She heard another splash.

The three looked up to see Hiei crawling out of the pool a second time after falling back.

He was mumbling incoherently to himself, his face a bit colored with red. The jaganshi got up and glared at Tora. "Why don't you pay attention to your surroundings! It'd be so easy for one of those Ten of Makai to simply saw you in half…"

"Hey! You got just as startled as I did!" the fureasei fired back.

"No I wasn't!"

"I saw you bounce right back into the water," Tora said while leering at him, "Don't tell me you forgot your Goth eyeliner and just dived back in to retrieve it."

Hiei flushed. "You stupid woman! I'll—"

Before he could finish the death threat, he had to whip out his katana to block Tora's oncoming twin blades. They were stopped on the edge, smashing the blades together so much as to emit sparks from them.

Kurama and Botan viewed them from their place on the ground with wide eyes. The two jaganshis started grunting while bending from side to side, keeping the blades locked together. Botan cringed uneasily. "Uh… should we, maybe… stop them? Before they hurt each other?"

Their eyes started darting back and forth while Hiei and Tora pushed each other from the edge of the pool to the edge of the forest and back again—_still_ with those deadly blades locked together. The two on the ground both sweat-dropped.

Kurama answered, "Uh… I… I don't think they'll hurt themselves… not too severely at least."

"Well… okay," Botan said unsurely and returned to healing Kurama's wound. They went on listening nervously as they heard twigs snap, rocks get kicked around, and the animalistic growls from the dueling demons.

* * *

AN: Sorry it took so long for an update. I had to wait a while for the sixth review and then I got distracted by my video games! (nervous laugh) And man, I hope I explained Auras correctly (feels head spinning). Hope that wasn't too much of a mind twister! I _did_ edit that part a couple of times...

Anyway, I've decided that my set review number for updates will be **7**. And that's the final increase I'll make, I promise! So, from now on, I'll update as soon as I can after receiving 7 reviews. (Sometimes I might post a chapter _immediately_ after the seventh review.) But I do want to finish this story so even if I don't get the seven reviews, I'll get a chapter up sometime (can't promise when though, depending on if I'm feeling lazy).

And thanks again to those of you who have reviewed the last chapters!

Hiei: …

Wolf: What?

Hiei: Aren't you going to say something?

Wolf: Um… No…

Hiei: …

Wolf: Oh, don't take it personally!

Hiei: I'm not. (twitches)

Wolf: Aw! I think I'll hug you!

Hiei: (bolts away)


	9. Catching a Break

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, the other antagonist OCs and this story! So, please don't sue! I have very little money as it already is... _

Chapter 09 – Catching a Break  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_Time is your master…_

* * *

When the skies of Makai had gone completely dark, Kurama's wounds had been healed and he and Botan had pried the two cutthroat jaganshi demons apart from each other at their own risk. They were quite relieved to find that the fiery pair had been too worn to turn their blades on _them_. Kurama did however, receive a handful of death threats from Hiei and Botan got her foot stomped on by Tora. The red-head seemed to be the only one to go to sleep peacefully. 

Honestly, he didn't sleep too well either.

The truth was: all of them had things to worry about, devoid of very many hopeful thoughts.

Hiei was met by the Aura in his sleep again. The drowning dream had changed significantly. Instead, he was the one who direly needed saving while the Oora hovered over the water's surface, silhouetted against a pale sun. She looked down on him uncaringly with no intent of aiding him whatsoever.

Shortly the fire demon woke in a cold sweat, greeted by golden eyes that actually appeared concerned. Sore from the previous day and left bitter by the dream, he had barked a rude "What are you looking at" to the fureasei and made the other two get up so the group could depart.

The day dragged on uneventful into noon. They had traveled at a hurried pace in the morning but were now walking tiredly along a common dirt path. Crossing a hostile, wind stirred desert depleted a person's energy like that.

The spirit girl was pouting, throwing glares at Tora who was too busy to notice, seeing as she was already busy arguing with Hiei for the about the _tenth_ time that day.

The boys had informed the two girls of their findings in the chamber before they left the falls (though Kurama did most of the talking). No Auras had been there. Hiei hadn't been surprised by that because it could be assumed that he of all people would know when the correct Aura was nearby. They had set off for the northeast because Usotsuki had unintentionally given Hiei and Kurama a few clues as to where some Ooras are held.

"So, we're just traipsing over a _hunch_?" Tora queried sarcastically, "How brilliant."

Hiei narrowed his eyes more. "The idiotic panther said he enjoyed his lands where there was a good balance of sunshine and darkness. One particular region of Makai happens to have such a place!" he snapped.

Usotsuki had shot off his mouth to quite the extent. In doing so, he had mentioned that the Ten of Makai kept most of the Ooras they captured locked up in an underground prison. He also said the place where the prison was located happened to be one of his favorite regions of Makai, a land he enjoyed because there was a "good balance of sunshine and darkness there". After that, Hiei and Kurama had managed to make the panther flop onto a pile of hot coals that where in his chamber. It was easy to defeat him then…

"Why would he say that? Don't you think he might be trying to mislead us?" the fureasei retorted.

"Usotsuki expected to defeat us. Honestly, if another of the Ten of Makai was with him to make the numbers even, it might not have been such an incredible feat to achieve," said Kurama, "You know how cocky Usotsuki can get when he smells victory. He starts to blurt things out."

"Ah, yes, that's right."

"What! You'll agree with him but not with me?" Hiei protested, his hand itching to latch onto his katana again.

"_He_ gave me a reason! _You_ just believe that everything you say is absolute and no one is to question your words!"

"If you have to analyze everything I say, you're going to end up delaying us!" he snarled.

"Me? Delay us? I believe you've got that backwards. At least _I_ am capable of saying what is truly on my mind but YOU—you just withhold as much as you possibly can: plans, dangers, or traps you may see. And your emotions!"

"What do my emotions have to do with anything?"

"They control a person's—or _demons_—actions. That's what! And you being so angry all the time makes you behave rashly despite the danger that's plainly in front of you!"

"Hey, I'm not the one who got captured! If it weren't for me, your head would have been melted off long ago!"

Tora hesitated. Then a mischievous glint flickered through her eyes and she said, "And who asked you to save me? Not that you _really _saved me. I mean, after all, Shibui did just hand me over…"

"Hn…" the fire demon paused. He looked at her thoughtfully. "Hey, what's that around your neck?"

"W-what!"

Hiei smirked.

"GRR! YOU'RE ABOUT TO MEET YOUR IMMINENT DOOM!" Tora leapt at him and their blades clashed again.

Kurama and Botan sweat-dropped.

"Um… I think I'm noticing a pattern here…" Botan surmised.

Kurama smiled nervously. "You might want to keep it to yourself."

"Seriously, you two! You need to cut out this senseless—WAH!" Botan cried, ducking out just in time to avoid the pair.

Kurama shook his head exasperatedly. "Alright…" he murmured and casually stepped right in between them. Botan had taken to watching through her hands, surprised to see that the red-head wasn't diced into a thousand pieces. She let her hands drop back down her sides and sighed in relief.

"Hn… I guess you're safe for now," Hiei muttered blithely, sheathing the sword and continuing down the path.

Tora shook with anger. "Grr… I'll—!"

"Oh, don't pay mind to him, Tora," Botan quickly chirped. "It's only his way of saying he likes you!"

"Huh?" Tora and Kurama replied in confusion.

The red head then laughed lightly. "Ah… yes, now I understand."

Him and Botan joined in laughing, Tora still oblivious to what they were so jovial about. Oh, they couldn't possibly be suggesting…? _Ha! Fat chance…_ Tora thought. Listening to them was beginning to make the fureasei queasy. Frazzled by it, she rolled her eyes and started along the path again.

"Quit dawdling unless you'd rather be made into lovely afternoon snacks for desert predators!" Hiei called back snippily.

Kurama and Botan exchanged looks as a silence fell onto the air. Furtively they went on exchanging knowing smiles and sniggering. Not only was the thought of Hiei having a crush amusing but Kurama was also enjoying Botan's happy mood.

Hiei glared down at Tora, making sure she caught it before he went on walking. Her eyes were downcast to the ground, staring uninterestedly at the beaten dirt path. Hiei considered reading her thoughts then but quickly decided against it. She couldn't be pondering anything that interesting. The girl's golden eyes finally looked up and she raised a brow at him. Hiei realized that his glare had relinquished for a smile instead. Quickly he made to frowning and turned back around.

_What the hell was that? _he thought irritably.

The other three caught up to his slow pace and they trudged up the hill together.

"So, Hiei…" said Kurama, "…I think you should try a _date_…"

The fire demon shot a glare at him. "What the hell are you—"

"They actually taste pretty good. It's funny because I don't really eat fruit that much."

Hiei's brow twitched. He'd forgotten there was actually a fruit by that name. Wait, was Kurama trying to suggest something in that _discreet_ way of his? The fire demon recalled the times when the red-head teased about the situation with his sister. Damn that kitsune…

He flinched when Botan spoke up.

"Now, that's something unexpected…"

They turned their attention ahead of them to see a slew of buildings popping into view. It was a town and an inhabited one too. The group slowed to a halt on top of the hill.

"Kuro-Ryu," Kurama said, "The only available haven for the demons of this desert region."

"Is it safe for us to enter?" Botan asked, crossing her fingers in hope that it was so they might find a decent sleeping place, food, and a bath. She really, really wanted the last of those necessities.

Tora hesitated. Then she nodded and said, "Yes. But ambling through the town by oneself would not be wise. So don't think of straying from the group."

"Why does it sound like you're only referring to _me_?" the spirit girl muttered grimly.

"Let's just find something to eat. Then we leave," Hiei said, slipping his hands in his pockets and proceeding down the hill.

Botan flailed her arms in the air. "Whaaat? But-But what about staying for the night? You know to get a good rest. We haven't exactly had a _good_ resting period since we arrived here…"

"You weren't asked to come to Makai. That was your own—"

"Hiei, what harm would one night of rest do? The sleep we had last night was hardly helpful and we've all suffered more injuries from traveling these deserts. Fatigue is sure to catch up to us at a later time, perhaps at a crucial moment even," Kurama reasoned calmly.

The jaganshi continued walking, not giving a signal that he'd even heard the red head. Finally he grunted a "fine" without turning his head.

Kurama smiled, looking to Botan who was beaming brightly and quietly doing a goofy victory dance. She stopped after a few seconds and then whispered, "Thanks Kurama."

"No problem," he returned softly. He only hoped that they wouldn't run into more unpleasant surprises waiting in the town.

* * *

Kuro-Ryu was built up from gray rock, all of its surfaces smooth and ancient. There were a fair amount of demons about; most were thieves while others were deadly nomads. Kurama almost felt like he was taking a stroll down memory lane. He'd passed by this town at least three times long ago. It hadn't changed much since then. The denizens were frequently fighting amongst each other and the proprietors were still sleazy swindlers… 

"I don't think you know who you're dealing with… If you actually expect us to pay an absurd price like that, you should also expect what's going to become of your insides when I'm through with you," Hiei growled at the greasy landlord.

The fat, blue skinned demon burped and set down his donut, moving sluggishly to get off his stool. "Listen, shorty… I get reservations from big, bad demons daily and—Hey! What the..!"

"Hiei, calm down!" Kurama urged as he and Tora struggled to restrain the fire demon from murdering the landlord.

Tora gritted her teeth. While she was kind of liking the feel of Hiei's impressive muscles, if he murdered this particular landlord, the denizens of the town might riot. "Can't you offer a discount?" she asked, feeling Hiei's coat quickly sliding away.

"Hiei, would you please!" Kurama tried again.

"Why would I give a discount to the likes of a buncha slack-jawed punks like you?" the landlord said slowly, now backed far behind his desk with his big stomach bulging out as a means to stay out of the jaganshi's reach.

"Slack-jawed!" Botan repeatedly crossly. "You listen here, tubby! We are NOT slack-jawed. And who are you to be calling _anyone _slack-jawed when your brain's probably the size of a nut! Not even a nut! A sesame seed!"

"Listen, bag lady, I—Ulp!"

Botan had gotten up on the desk separating them and snatched the demon by his collar. "No, YOU listen! We have been traveling across these miserable lands with nothing but trouble popping up everywhere we've gone! If you're going to deny us a much deserved night's rest just because we're a few yen short on currency, I'LL PUMMEL YOU UNTIL YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN!"

By this point, the other three had ceased all moment but for a few blinks. There were a few more instances of silence then:

"O-o-okay, lady! Geez, all ya had to do was say so… I-I mean…" the landlord reached behind his desk and withdrew a key. "…H-here ya go…"

Botan smiled contently and took the key. "Thank you!" she sang and slid back off the desk. "Alright! Let's go!" she said to the others and skipped along up the stairs.

Hiei, Tora, and Kurama exchanged looks and then followed after the blue-haired grim reaper.

* * *

"Bingo! We got the penthouse!" Botan cheered. 

"Big surprise. There were only five floors—and five rooms," Hiei muttered dryly.

"Five floors, five rooms and five beds per room," Kurama surmised, "I suppose that's why they call it the Five Headed Dragon Inn."

Tora nodded. "Hmph, yeah. And if not for this spirit girl, I suppose we'd be paying _five_ hundred yen as well."

"That price was absurd," Hiei grumbled.

"What do you expect? This is a con town of demons. Everyone's crooked and conniving here…"

"Really? Hn… I think I'll go see for myself," he said and walked back out of the room.

Tora raised a brow. "Oh… I guess he's going to scout for _TM_ members, huh?"

"You're using an acronym for them now?" Kurama queried curiously.

"Well, we are in a _town_ where several ears may be just _twitching_ to hear some juicy information."

"And the demon whose ears might hear something could carry that something to someone else…" Kurama added.

"Right." Tora nodded.

Botan climbed back down from the stairs leading to the roof, smiling. "Well, at first I was skeptical but having a bath on the roof is actually pretty nice!"

Tora winced. "Oh, that's just perfect. Won't it be possible for peeping toms to… peep?"

"That's what I thought at first! But actually, it's shielded by nifty retractable screens! And you can also pull out a domed roof overhead, too! Although… I think the roof thing is stuck… I tried pulling it out but it just wouldn't budge," Botan mumbled absently. She started rummaging through one of the cabinets surprisingly filled with _clean_ bathroom stuff.

Tora and Kurama sat down on their picked out single beds as Botan went on inspecting the room. A few times, the blue-haired girl asked them questions and made comments about things she found in the room. A couple minutes later, she got up from one of the desks waving a small paper in the air.

"Okay! I've written up our bath time schedules!"

"You must feel so accomplished," Tora muttered, lounged back on her bed.

Botan frowned. "Hmph… Well, anyway, here's how it'll go: first me—since Kurama refused to go ahead of me! Thank you so much, Kurama!" she beamed at the red-head. He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. "My time will be from 3:00 to 4'. Next will be Kurama—"

"Ah… so that's how things are, huh?"

"W-what do you mean?"

"Oh, nothing. Please continue…" the fureasei mumbled airily.

"Actually I meant that the girl's should have precedence… out of courtesy of course. You should go ahead of me, Tora," Kurama said.

"But Kurama… You're covered in much more blood and grime than Tora is… Me and you got the worst of it back there, remember? I think YOU should go ahead of her!"

Tora chuckled. "You know what? She's right, Kurama. You have much more filth build up on you than either myself or that _willful_ fire demon… It's only fair that the filthiest get priority in this case," she said with a devious smile.

"Oh… thanks… I think…" Kurama replied.

The grim reaper smiled obliviously and continued, "So, Kurama's time is slotted in at 4' to 5:00. Next will be Tora at 5' to 6:00 and Hiei will have 6' to 7:00, which will then give everyone more than enough sleeping time! Now, then, does everyone have their times?"

"We're not idiots. I think a simple schedule like that should be easy enough to remember," Tora murmured and rose up to exit the room.

Botan narrowed her eyes in irritancy. Recomposing herself into cheeriness, she then remembered: "Oh! Tora! Tora, wait!" she called, rushing to the open door and peering out into the hallway. "Can you tell Hiei when his time… Oh, never mind…" she grumbled seeing as the fureasei demon was likely far out of earshot by then.

"Hiei should be returning soon. I think he only went to scout the town for potential threats," Kurama said, starting to read a green book he'd found on one of the night stands.

Botan pulled herself back in the door, smiling nervously. "Uh… yeah… Um, you don't think the Te—I mean… a certain band of demons would show up _here _do you?"

The red head blinked at her. "Oh… No, I highly doubt that. You don't need to worry, Botan," he reassured.

A sigh of relief left the girl. Then she proceeded to gather things for her bath. Maybe their luck was starting to change if they didn't have to meet up with any of the Ten of Makai members.

* * *

Raucous laughter rang all around the fire demon as he walked through the bar offhandedly. The place reeked of feet and liquor, quite unpleasant and yet it was the most crowded place of the city. Not yet had Hiei found any conspicuous culprits, well, none worth his time anyway. Truthfully it seemed like many of the demons had something to hide and weren't very good at keeping that information to themselves. 

He finally slipped into an unoccupied corner and coolly surveyed the vast room.

"Don't worry, they're all primordial oafs."

Hiei swiveled his head toward the familiar voice. He found Yomi sitting back in a chair nearby, his hand rested on a table and wrapped around an ice filled glass.

"Jaganshi Hiei, yes?" he inquired.

Hiei chuckled quietly. "I could stay silent and walk away but I suppose that would be rude."

Yomi grinned. "I thought you had been sentenced to a patrolling duty beneath Mukuro's wing."

"And I thought you'd gone on a journey to train that bratty son of yours or some nonsense like that."

The youkai laughed. "Okay, I get it. It's none of my business. But I can't see anything that would bring you to a town like this."

"You can't see anything, period. Remember?"

Another laugh. Yomi shook his head and then said, "You've come here with some friends. I was quite surprised to sense Kurama's presence."

"We're… looking for someone. Or maybe you'd call it a some_thing_. I'm not entirely sure."

"Is it of great value?"

"Not really. I could care less."

"But?"

Hiei hesitated and then: "It's the difference between life and death I guess you could say."

"Well… it must be something difficult to obtain then, huh?"

"The Ten of Makai certainly make it that way."

The entire room suddenly went quiet, a wave created by all the demon head's that turned toward the corner.

Yomi smiled. "Sounds like you're in deep."

* * *

AN: Wahoo! I finally got some more ideas! Yeah, I know that was the longest delay yet! Sorry about that! I totally had writer's block though… I just hope it won't be returning so soon… (shivers) But I already do have the next chapter written too so... **seven **reviews will bring it up quicker! (gets pumpkin shoved on the head) 

How am I supposed to talk through this... oh, thanks sooo much for the reviews! Although I was one short from my set number, I really appreciate those of you who have and continue to review! I just can't thank ya enough! U-unless… you're _sick _of hearing my thank yous I suppose I could stop… Uses telepathy (_thank you!_)

Hiei: You can shut up now. I think you've annoyed them enough.

Wolf: Aaah! Why are you so mean to me? Ouch! (topples over thanks to the heavy pumpkin on her head... plus Hiei pushing her) Hey, you're not supposed to tip over pumpkin heads! That's bad luck! Or... was that salt?

Hiei: (starts unraveling dragon tattoo)

Wolf: Uh-oh… (sighs) Oh… I guess it's time to… RUN FOR IT! (scrambles to feet only to fall down again... and again)

Hiei: ...Idiot.


	10. Soft Landing

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, other antagonist OCs and this story!_

Chapter 10 – Soft Landing  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_Do you know who your friends are…?  
__Can you really trust them…?  
__Pass one wrong judgment and it could mean your demise…_

* * *

_I wonder if Yomi is mixed up with the current Ten of Makai business… _

"Oh, Hiei, there you are."

Hiei looked up from the floor and raised a brow. "I can imagine how hard it must've been to find me while pruning in a tub."

"How did _you_ know I was in the tub!"

"The towel on your head, fool. Unless you're experimenting with fashion again, I can safely guess that you just came from a _luxurious_ bath."

Botan frowned, a brow twitching. She sighed and then said, "If you're done, I can tell you when your bath time is. You're scheduled for… wait…" The grim reaper's visage twisted in thought. Then she smiled. "Oh, yes! Now I remember. Um, 5:00 to 6:00, after Kurama."

"Hn, the fureasei baka actually agreed to go _last_?"

"Well, she _did _say that 'in this case, the filthiest should be granted priority'," Botan paraphrased, mimicking Tora in an exaggerated way. She lifted the deep frown back up and added, "I doubt she would have insinuated herself to be filthier than you."

Hiei narrowed his eyes.

"Um… I'm only stating what _she _was probably inferring by that!" she quickly said.

"Did Kurama already go up?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, that he did! Ah! They don't have a brush or a hair drier! What am I going to… Oh, there has to be one somewhere…" the blue-haired girl said distraughtly as she pulled things out of cabinets and drawers.

Hiei rolled his eyes and then walked out of the room again. He ambled unhurriedly down the hall and then found an open window he could sit in. Flitting up to it, he shrugged up against the cold stone and gazed out onto the horizon. There was still daylight left, the sky emblazoned by stripes of white and dark gray clouds. Off in the farthest distance there was a hint of reddish orange. They would be heading in that direction come morning.

The colors became more golden as he stared longer. He could see Tora's eyes appearing in his mind…

Oh wait…

Actually she was just sitting across from him now.

A growl rumbled in the back of his throat. "What do you want?"

The fureasei shrugged uncaringly. "I dunno…"

"If you're not going to start giving me answers then I suggest you leave."

"Answers to what questions?"

Hiei smirked. "What questions? Alright, here's the first one: what exactly is a fureasei demon?"

Tora sighed and closed her eyes. Ah, it wouldn't take _too_ long to explain… She took a breath and then started, "A long ways back, a little over two thousand years ago, the fureasei kind were a flourishing breed of demons. But they weren't like the other demons of Makai. They actually had a few characteristics of Reikai beings, kind of like this Yusuke Urameshi I've heard about only not quite as balanced. The fureasei were _born_ into the S-class, destructive even as infants. They didn't need mobility to bring about torture and death to people who were thousands of miles away… That was thanks to this peculiar 'spirit energy' they could utilize even as a baby. And as you know, most demons are born evil…"

Hiei smiled wryly as Tora went on, "…So, Reikai had to do something about these powerful demons. They immediately established a vast kingdom for them, a place impervious to outsiders unless permitted access by the fureasei. They were long kept ignorant to the outside world, never even knew what the Ningenkai or Reikai were. At some point, they allowed a feeble demon into their kingdom as a rare gesture of kindness…"

Hiei listened expectantly. The silence dragged, then he tapped a finger impatiently and said, "And?"

"Well… he was a wolf youkai named Kawaakari," Tora muttered. She looked up at Hiei and continued, "He started living in the fureasei kingdom as the only non-fureasei demon there. About a hundred years later, he led an onslaught of the fureasei… very few survived."

"Why would he do that?"

"Not sure… but the fureasei's killers called themselves the Ten of Makai."

"They've been around that long?"

Tora nodded. "A lot of them died in that attack too."

"If these fureasei could murder as infants, how is it so many were killed?"

"The Ten of Makai were aided by another race, Ooras, which they'd enslaved. In that battle, they drew powers from the Ooras as they fought. Plus, in all the confusion, some fureasei killed their own kind by mistake—it wasn't hard to do and their mistakes were unfixable."

Silence fell upon them, Hiei watching Tora pondering distantly. After a minute, he asked, "How did you get a jagan eye? Are you not a pureblooded fureasei?"

Tora smiled. "What? You don't think I could've possibly survived getting it surgically?" The fire demon didn't say anything. Tora sighed and looked to the ground. "Yeah… my father was a jaganshi."

"You were a Ten of Makai member once, weren't you?" Hiei asked quietly, not entirely sure of himself but believing it true nonetheless. The lack of response seemed to be his answer. "Why would you join a group that once murdered most of your people?"

Tora smiled thinly then let herself fall out the window, her eyes closed serenely. Hiei leaned over to see the girl land on her feet unharmed and stroll down the alley below. He raised a brow and flattened back against the sill again.

Before he could drift into thought, he could just see Yomi over the edge of one of the shorter buildings next to the inn. He was standing near the edge of the town, speaking to a pair of average looking demons.

Or maybe they were not so average at all…

Swiftly Hiei got up and flitted to another building to get a closer look.

* * *

"Are you feeling better, Kurama?" Botan asked brightly, now reading a book set on her lap. The red head had just descended from the roof. 

Kurama looked up and smiled softly. "Yeah, much better. I'm surprised how clean the bath tub actually was."

Botan grinned. "Well, actually, it wasn't… It was practically filled to the brim with sand! It was fairly easy to clean up though."

The red head nodded and quietly sat back on his bed. Something seemed off about him… Botan lifted the book up to eye level and carefully peered over the top at him. He kind of looked like a person suffering from aftershock of a traumatic event.

Botan lowered the book, her brows creased into a frown. "Are you alright, Kurama?"

Kurama flinched and looked over to her dazedly. "Huh?"

"You seem kind of… I don't know… confused, maybe? What were you thinking about?"

"Oh, it's nothing really," he said with a smile.

Botan frowned. Then she sighed, looking solemnly to the floor. "Kurama… There _is _something wrong… You've been aloof lately… You're hiding something aren't you?"

"No, really, Botan it's just—"

"It has to do with your connection with the Ten of Makai… right?"

The red head's jaw was left agape. He wasn't sure what to say.

"You… _were _a Ten of Makai, weren't you?"

"Youko was," he corrected quietly, moving his eyes to the open green book on his blankets.

A long silence followed. Botan scrutinized the brooding expression that darkened Kurama's features. She felt it was time to drop the subject. "Oh! You know what? I forgot about dinner!" she burst suddenly. The red head's eyes widened at her. "I'll go ask the landlord to order us something good. I don't think he'll mind. I would get it myself but walking about this town is dangerous and all, huh? Alright, I'll just get to it, then!"

She practically skipped out of the room (out of nervousness). When the door was closed behind her, her smiled immediately dropped. Something was seriously hurting in her chest.

Was she that afraid for Kurama? Of course she was worried about him but…

There was more to it than that…

* * *

A building that was decorated with odd leonine gargoyles jutting out from the sides of the top floor was nearest to Yomi. Hiei stood atop one of the statues' backs, peering over its head at the conversation occurring below while remaining unseen by the conversers. 

"…Be that as it may, Yomi, it does not change the fact he betrayed you in a most disgraceful way years ago—just like he betrayed _us_."

Yomi was talking to two demons hiding beneath gray cloaks. The one who'd just spoken was a woman with a snaky voice. Her pale hands were creepily held out before her, regularly twisting together as she spoke.

Unbeknownst to Hiei, a few pebbles broke loose beneath the statue he was standing on.

"Believe me, I haven't forgotten," said Yomi, "But I've got more important things to deal with then lingering on things long past…"

"Is that so? Hm…"

The other cloaked demon twitched jerkily. "Gah! Let's just get out of here… I have to go find a damn healer for these burns," he growled.

Hiei's expression went flat. _Usotsuki. _Botan had proudly retold what she did to escape the panther and wolf youkais about three or four times as they traveled through the deserts. Usotsuki seemed to be one with an affinity for getting burned.

"Don't be so rude, fool… Ahem, Yomi… I do wish you'd reconsider. At least… give it some thought?"

Yomi sighed. "There's nothing to—"

"_Think _about it. We'll find you again in… two days. Alright?" the snaky sounding woman said. When Yomi made no reply, she turned to Usotsuki. "Fine, then, let's go you whining buffoon."

"Are you sure we should just leave? Yomi, just agree and—"

"Shut up, you bumbling idiot! He has to make the decision on his own! Besides, you said you wanted to leave!"

Usotsuki growled. "Whatever! It's just that there isn't much time! What about—"

"Shush! Do you hear that?"

Hiei's brows arched up then he could feel the surface begin to move beneath him. Quickly he darted back away, moving just in time as the leonine gargoyle collapsed.

Varied demon voices barked at once, shouting at whoever had just nearly crushed them with the statue. But luckily no one had seen the fire demon.

* * *

Hiei returned to the group's room at the inn, finding it empty. He checked the ugly demon head clock on the wall to see that it was his turn to use the bath. All he'd need was ten minutes. The idea of anyone needing an hour just sitting about, getting wrinkly without purpose was ludicrous. Who needed to soak in a tub that long? 

_Apparently the Grim Reaper_, Hiei thought carelessly while he went up the stairs with a towel draped over his shoulder. Actually the fire demon could spend the rest of his hour just sitting on the rooftop by himself. Alone time seemed to have become quickly scarce recently.

Tiredly the jaganshi hung his towel on a hook jutting from the back of one of the screens and pulled off his long jacket.

Yeah, he could use the rest of his fifty minutes just to think about absolutely nothing. Against his will, his mind had been bombarded with too many thoughts in the passed hours. It was about time he just shut it off for a while…

Next, he pulled off the long boots and the remainder of his clothing until he was in nothing but his birthday suit (and headband). He finally started to walk around the screen to the bath when he stepped on a bar of soap…

His legs flung out behind him and he was thrust headfirst into the bowl shaped bathtub. When he jerked his head back out, he spit out a mouthful of water and then his eyes slowly widened. Bit by bit he turned his head and there he could see a familiar fureasei demon staring back at him, paler than a deathly moon.

For a moment their eyes were just frozen in each other's terrified gaze and then…

Although he'd hardly intended it, his eyes flitted southward for an extremely short trice. Unfortunately the equally quick female jaganshi didn't fail to catch it.

Tora's face quickly regained color with a rosy tinge. Her teeth gritted together and she quickly reached over to snap a hand across his face.

Hiei was temporarily blinded by the water that'd been accompanied by the rude strike. He growled, wiping it from his eyes. "What the hell was that for?" he snarled but when he reopened his eyes, Tora was already stalking off with her towel wrapped tightly around herself.

An expression that was mixed of anger and confusion twisted on his face and then he hauled himself out of the water.

With his own towel secured around his waist he hurried down the stairs after her. The door that separated the roof from the room came back at him unexpectedly, thumping against his forehead and then opening again. His jagan eye pulsed with pain. Angrier than ever, he pushed open the offending door and stepped in.

"You know, I really didn't take you for a hentai, Hiei!" Tora fumed, whirling on the fire demon as he entered.

Disbelief flashed across his face. "What! I'm not the one who just couldn't wait to take a bath so I had to _steal _another person's time!"

"I didn't _steal _anything! You were the one who intruded!"

"So, why didn't you lock the door!"

"There AREN'T any locks baka! But I suppose a hentai wouldn't notice that would they?"

"I'm NOT a hentai!"

The door to the room opened and in came a happily conversing Kurama and Botan. They immediately went quiet at the peculiar sight.

"E-eh… W-we're not walking in on um… _something_, are we?" Botan said nervously.

"You always have to have things your way, don't you!" Tora continued, oblivious to the other two.

"What the hell are you talking about? Don't pretend you know more about me than you do!"

Kurama and Botan sweat-dropped.

"Just couldn't wait another hour so you just waltz right in because you're the big, bad Hiei!"

"Grr! Where's my katana? I'll stake you a thousand times before… Wait, why the hell _would _I wait another hour? This girl said I had 5:00 to 6:00!" Hiei snarled while pointing at the grim reaper.

Botan shrunk back against the doorway, another sweat drop rolling down her forehead. "Uh-oh…"

"5' to… What? No, _I_ had 5' to 6'. _You _were scheduled last for 6' to 7'…"

"Botan!" both of the jaganshi demons growled.

"Eh… heh, heh, heh…" It wasn't like she'd done it intentionally! _Oh… I'm going to hear about this one for a long… painful while… _

* * *

Gladly the mishap was shortly dealt with and two hours later, the outside had become dark but for the stars brightening up the Makai sky—a rare thing to occur. Hiei was curled up in one of the windows of their room, clean and clothed and mostly having pushed the recent happening out of his mind. Tora was lounging on her bed, absently drum rolling her fingers against the rough wool blanket tucked beneath her. Kurama was sitting at the one desk in the room, reading the same green book from earlier. 

Botan then came through the door, hugging a brown paper bag in each arm. "Okay! I got our dinners from the landlord!"

"Is it poisoned?" Hiei asked flatly, not taking his eyes from the view outside.

"Oh, he didn't cook it personally. He requested the meal from one of the best eateries in town, specially prepared for us!"

"That's reassuring," Tora muttered.

Botan sighed, drooping down.

"I'm sure the food's fine. If you two are worried, I'll try it first," Kurama said to the cranky jaganshi demons, finally putting down the book.

The spirit girl smiled and went to taking out the food. Though _something_ was still bugging her…

During their meal, she kept a worried eye on the red head.

* * *

AN: Grr… stupid CN! They brought back YYH but I have to watch it at 2 freakin' 30 am! (sighs) Guess I'm gonna have to figure out how to set a record timer thingy on my VCR… if it has that. Mine's actually a "hand-me-down" VCR, heh… 

Yeah, I decided to post this chappy earlier! Since, I finished the next one. Dude, you guys have gotta REVIEW! Pretty please! CC or words of encouragement please! Come on, I know you're out there!

Hiei: You're so weak.

Wolf: Hey! It's nice to get _nice_ feed back, you know?

Hiei: I hope you're not going to start saying that after every sentence.

Wolf: Huh? You mean "you know"?

Hiei: (twitches)

Wolf: (evil grin spreads on her face)

Hiei: Don't even think about it.


	11. Fading

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, other antagonist OCs and this story!_

Chapter 11 – Fading  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_They'll all leave you…  
__You were meant to be alone…_

* * *

Hiei's eyes narrowed on the dawning scenery outside. He was typically sitting in the window sill and it had been quiet outside and in for the past couple of hours. The fire demon had had the misfortune of being able to hear his distant _friend_ clear as a bell. He looked over to the kitsune sitting at the desk.

"You're actually reading a book at a time like this?"

Kurama flinched slightly, so oddly engrossed by whatever it was he was reading. "It's not an ordinary book, Hiei," he replied vaguely, "It's actually an unofficial account of a certain Makai king who once ruled here…"

"Does it mention anything useful?" As if it did, it being 'unofficial' but the fire demon was tired of listening to the Aura and talking to others reduced the volume of the Aura's voice. Ironic really.

"Hiei, shouldn't you be keeping your voice down? The girls are still asleep," Kurama said, _still _not prying his eyes from the pages.

Hiei rolled his eyes back to the window. "I'm far from blind, fool. I know that and it's time they woke up," he said with a trace of impatience on his voice.

Kurama shook his head. For a minute he just stared at the page, not reading it but thinking. He'd been pondering things which had resurfaced from the past, things which were only meant to drag him down but had coincidentally chosen to take his current companions as well. Why of all demons had Hiei been compatible with an Aura, the Ooras a very rare race limited to something below fifty? Why was it that Tora had ended up being the first person called on to aid Hiei? Why was it only himself and Botan who had followed the two demons that night and been sucked back here into demon world?

Things that'd been left behind were catching up to him again… He would be obligated to face them.

No matter what.

"I don't need you nagging me about my sleep program!" Tora suddenly said, snapping the redhead out of thought.

"Sleeping program? It must be nice having a routine."

Kurama sighed. The girl had just woken up and already the jaganshis were at it again.

"Excuse me but not everyone can sleep hanging upside down."

"If you're implying that I'm like a bat then there's a giant hole in your reprimand. Bats sleep during the _day_."

"Well, that just means you're a day bat then."

"You're impossible… and a fool."

"Ouch, that hurts, Hiei. Please, _please _don't say it again," Tora replied drearily.

The day those two had a civilized conversation was when Makai became inhabited by angels. Kurama shook his head exasperatedly, closing the book since he couldn't concentrate with those two battling it out. He set it on the desk top and stared at it for a moment. Then he shrugged and picked it up again, slipping it inside the jacket he was wearing. He was sure the _well-fed_ Landlord wouldn't miss it.

"You wouldn't last a day in the Ten of Makai. They'd serve you up for breakfast!" Tora growled.

Uh-oh… getting on sensitive grounds here… He looked over at them. Tora was sitting up in her bed, stretching her arms for her toes and Hiei was glowering over his shoulder at her.

"Like it's really that hard to get in their ranks," the fire demon spat. "Judging by these elite members I've seen thus far they don't even require having a functional brain for one to be accepted!"

Tora leered over at him. "Oh, REALLY? Well, I'll tell you what you can do—"

"Okay, settle down you two," Kurama said, a sweat bead forming at his temple. He realized that he was beginning to sound like a kindergarten teacher when it came to mediatory duty between the two jaganshi demons. But maybe once Hiei admitted his feelings, there wouldn't be so many disputes between them… _Maybe_.Although, the chances of _that_ fire demon admitting such feelings were incredibly slim.

Botan yawned, stretching her arms out of the comforter over her. "…Sheesh… what's with all the yelling? This was supposed to be a happy vacation," she mumbled groggily.

The other three gawked at her.

She slowly sat up, chuckling nervously. "Just… joking of course, heh…"

"Oh, by the way, Kurama. I talked to Yomi yesterday," Hiei said, remains of irritability on his tone.

That had come out of nowhere… Kurama felt his blood run cold.

"Yomi… he was a Makai King, wasn't he?" Tora surmised.

"What did you talk about?" the redhead asked.

Hiei closed his eyes and replied, "I mentioned our situation, not in detail of course, and in turn he told me something about _you_."

"W… What do you mean?"

Everyone looked to Hiei expectantly.

The fire demon shrugged and reopened his eyes. "That you were once among their ranks—an _honorary_ _member_. It was during the time you were just becoming notorious throughout Makai. You did a few jobs for them in your early years, stole some precious weapons for them one time. Then before you could become a permanent member, you ducked out suddenly without a word."

"Hmph… Yes… Z… I mean—the _leader _of the Ten of Makai was quite furious about that. Though he'd never met you face to face… Rumor has it that you even met Kawaakari before he died," said Tora, partially amused and partly grave by the look in her eyes.

Kurama nodded slowly.

"You never told me that," Hiei said.

"I never even heard of that…" Botan murmured quietly.

"I think…" Kurama hesitated, averting his eyes to the door. The time to actually confront this part of his past had just sprung on him. It was inevitable… Abruptly, he got up from his chair and said, "I'm going to go talk to Yomi. Let's… meet up at the northern gate in a few minutes, alright?"

Then he left before anyone could say something.

"…Sounded a little gloomy," Tora mumbled, rolling her shoulders to stretch them.

Botan frowned. She looked to the fire demon. "Hiei… did Yomi say anything else? What about him? How much does he actually know about the Ten of Makai?"

Hiei unsheathed his katana and started scratching some dried blood off the tip of the blade, ignoring Botan's query. Somehow he was feeling uneasy about the whole thing. The Ten of Makai knew Kurama's true identity. Were they going to attempt killing two birds with one stone by trying to catch both Hiei and Kurama, issuing whatever judgment they'd set upon them? Or would it be one and then the other? He also had to wonder what could be on Kurama's mind. That kitsune wouldn't do something stupid…

Or would he?

Hiei flinched, his finger pricked by the tip of the sword.

"Shouldn't play with sharp objects, Hiei," Tora muttered airily.

"Whatever," the fire demon snapped and sheathed the sword again. Waiting was going to be a nuisance. Snappishly he got up, hooking the sword back beneath his coat and went for the door.

Tora arched a brow. "Leaving so soon? Or are you going to look for a band-aid?"

"Let's go to the gate now," he said, deciding that he didn't need to explain himself and exiting.

"Hmph. As you wish, Mr. Nasty," the fureasei mumbled and followed him.

The corner of Botan's mouth twitched. "Eh… Guys, don't you think we should wait at least another minute? What about the pickpockets and…" She sighed dejectedly and picked herself up from the tangle of blankets. Before leaving, she looked back on the room. "Bye-bye bed… although you were stiff, I doubt I'll have any better comfortable sleep in the coming days…"

Sighing again, she waved and closed the door behind her. My, the Demon World certainly was a place of joys, wasn't it?

* * *

"Did you forget which way was north?" Tora scolded as she caught up to the fire demon, heading the wrong way from the gate they were to meet at.

"Keep your mouth shut. Your female voice is likely to attract a neanderthal's attention."

Tora looked at him suspiciously. "I can't help but notice you've become exceedingly bad-tempered. Not a morning person, I expect."

The fire demon didn't respond.

"Hey! Would you two wait up!" Botan cried, scrambling through a crowd of towering demons. "Uh, excuse me! Sorry! Oh, pardon me—Wait!"

She jostled through a few more demons and caught her two companions tread, out of breath for a couple of seconds. Looking about them, she could see that this wasn't heading north. "Huh? Aren't we going the wrong way?"

"Depends on what Hiei calls the 'right way'," Tora replied lackadaisically.

Botan scratched her head. "Um… so, Hiei's leading the way then?"

"Sure."

"Oh… okay, then…" she said uncertainly.

For five minutes, they weaved down street after street, seeming like they were lost. But then Hiei finally slowed down in front of a small motor parts shop.

"I guess even demons need vehicles out here…" Botan commented.

They looked through the smoggy display window and could see Kurama and Yomi.

"What does Yomi need with motor parts?"

"Quiet," Hiei muttered.

They moved into a slight circle, pretending to be talking but listening to what the two youkais inside were saying.

"…I don't think I quite understand, Kurama. You're sure that you—"

"Yes. It's… the only way…"

Yomi sighed. "Funny… by what I got from the last time we spoke, you were going to move on with your life."

"No… I believe I mentioned not forgetting my past, not abandoning these things," Kurama replied quietly. He flinched slightly after looking about the shop. There was a pause and then: "There's one more thing I wanted to ask you, Yomi…"

The redhead started to walk to the back of the shop, disappearing down a narrow hall with the other youkai.

"Where's he going?" Botan piped, craning her neck to try and see them.

"Hn…"

Tora arched a brow. Then closing her eyes and crossing her arms, she let out a soft laugh.

"What?" Botan queried.

The fureasei shook her head.

Botan looked from one jaganshi to the other. "Come on! What _is _it? What are you two hiding?"

Neither said anything. Then Hiei went on leading them around the building. Botan gritted her teeth but went on following them anyway.

* * *

"Where's Kurama?" the fire demon asked.

Yomi was standing on the corner of a block, standing limp as a zombie. He heaved a sigh and then said, "I think you know that he's not here."

"Whaaat?" Botan cried, cupping her hands over her mouth afterward.

"So, where did he go?" Hiei deadpanned.

Yomi rubbed his forehead tiredly. "Just have some faith in him."

Hiei's eyes narrowed. "You mean _trust_?"

"You'd be surprised how delicate it actually is."

"Hn. I suppose _you _would know," Hiei returned.

Yomi smiled weakly. Then he shook his head and walked by them without further word. The trio watched him until he stepped out of sight behind the cluster of buildings.

Tora tugged at a sleeve, keeping her face neutral, although she was rather intrigued by this. She set her hands on the hilts of her swords and asked, "Well? You _do _have an idea where he's gone, right?" Her eyes drifted back to Hiei.

Botan looked to the fire demon hopefully.

"Your guess is as good as mine," he replied.

"Wait a second! You're all pulling my leg aren't you!"

The jaganshis looked at Botan oddly.

"He's going to be standing at the northern gate just like he said he would, right?"

Tora snorted softly. "Don't kid yourself. You know we aren't joke—"

"Alright! Let's go! Mustn't keep him waiting!" the spirit girl said quickly and walked on down the walkway for north.

Hiei and Tora exchanged looks.

_Denial? _Tora thought to him.

Hiei nodded.

So on the grim reaper marched, keeping up a cheery face although inside she was crumbling. _Kurama will be there… He wouldn't abandon us… He wouldn't leave like this without a word to us… _

Kurama… how long had she known the red-haired warrior? Three years now? It always seemed like longer when she thought about it. It began to occur to her that her last words to him might be "I never even heard of that…" Her chest suddenly felt constricted, her heart crushing. But since yesterday when she'd spoken to him, somehow she felt something like this was going to happen. She never even got to tell him…

Was Kurama going to be put in danger? Worse… be smack-dab in the middle of it?

He couldn't leave them… He _would not _leave them like this…

But when the trio approached the northern gate, no redhead could be seen amidst the suddenly gray world. Botan froze in place, a yard away from the gate. He wasn't here… He really had left… He was gone and she didn't know where he'd gone _to_.

The other two caught up to the disheartened spirit girl and stopped by her, gazing out to the stretch of land beyond the town.

"Kurama wouldn't _betray_ us… You two know that, right?" Botan asked shakily, staring sadly at the ground.

"Well, I guess even I will give him the benefit of the doubt… But if it's Youko…"

Botan gasped and whirled on the fureasei. "Tora! No matter what, Kurama would NOT seek to harm us! He's a good person… He's a _great _person and for him to just…"

"Why don't you go visit the Seer…"

The three dashed their eyes about their surroundings. They found a grungy man covered in rags, peering out of a nearby alley.

"Tell me he didn't just say 'Seer'," Hiei murmured.

"You can find her two miles north of here. She's living in a hut right next to the roads… You will not be disappointed…"

"I'm sure we will."

"No… you won't. She's not been wrong… ever," the man said and then wobbled back down the alley. He slid down to the wall and covered himself with a cut up cardboard box.

Hiei and Tora sweatdropped.

"Let's go see her!" Botan blurted, looking at the other two eagerly. "Come on, we're going that way anyway, right? There's no harm in checking it out!"

"We're going north_east_," Tora corrected uncaringly, arching a brow.

Botan sighed exasperatedly. "Big difference! We'll only be off track _slightly _for two miles!" The jaganshis looked at each other unsurely but stayed silent. Botan put her hands on her hips. "Alright, since neither of you two are saying anything… Let's go!" she finished brightly and started out of the town.

Tora's visage became indolent. "Hm… It must be bliss to be so positive all the time."

"Hn."

"So, what do you really think is going to become of Kurama?" the fureasei asked, moving her eyes to the fire demon.

Hiei shrugged.

"About what Yomi said… this _trust_. Was he saying that if we lacked trust in the kitsune, he might change sides?"

Hiei highly doubted the fox youkai would simply throw aside all that they'd been through. While Hiei certainly wouldn't admit it aloud, their friendship was binding. But on the other hand, Kurama wasn't one to avoid making amends with his past. Perhaps the fox even owed something to the Ten of Makai. To what lengths would he go to repay them?

"You're not going to answer are you?" Tora mumbled.

"Since we're on the subject of trust… Under what conditions does it apply to you?" Hiei asked pointedly. "Not all of them, surely."

"You don't trust me?"

He deadpanned. "You have personal gain from aiding me. What is it?"

The fureasei sighed, closing her eyes. "I'm not going to make you any promises."

"HEY! Would you two quit dawdling! We need to go!"

The two looked ahead at Botan waving her arms in the air at them and then putting them akimbo again.

"…She better cool her jets. I really don't take too kindly to being ordered around," Tora muttered through gritted teeth, going onward through the gate.

Hiei smirked. "Hn. Is that why you quit the Ten of Makai?"

Tora paused for a second, twitching slightly but quickly moved on.

Kurama was gone… Was Tora going to leave as well? She was in a convenient position, had to be or else she'd have been dead by that coyote's hand a couple days ago. If that fureasei thought things were looking bleak for Hiei, she could switch over to the Ten of Makai's side again. Unfortunately Hiei was having trouble gauging that woman.

_She'll betray you… She'll _hurt _you… _

_No she won't. _

_Just like what the fox is doing… _

"Shut up," Hiei whispered. Then he realized that what he'd just thought was contrary to all logic. Why should he be blindly determined to believe in Tora's devotion? Devotion… Ha, that's a laugh. The Aura must've screwed around with his brains…

He then noticed that he was starting to feel really cold. He was even shivering. This definitely wasn't a good sign. The last time he'd felt this way, he…

_It's not going to happen again! I won't allow it, _Hiei thought but he was far from convinced. Deep in his gut, he knew the chances of the Aura taking over were high.

"Hiei! Are you coming or not!" Botan called back again.

The fire demon peered up at the two women. Wordlessly he stuffed his shaking hands in his pockets and walked onward. What was he thinking? Was he thinking of giving up? That made him want to hurt himself…

Was he going to be left completely alone soon?

Did he want that?

"Spacing out, kareshi?"

Hiei stopped, eyes focusing to see Tora giving him a bored, sidelong glance. Him and Botan blinked surprised at her.

"What?"

Botan started to snicker.

"I was only joking…" Tora muttered stiffly. When the spirit girl didn't stop laughing and the fire demon wouldn't drop his stare, Tora gritted her teeth and bound off ahead of them.

"Tora! Wait up! I think it's good yours and Hiei's relationship is blossoming!"

Hiei cringed, suddenly irritated like the fureasei after _that _Botan comment. The blue-haired grim reaper had already drifted off on her oar to follow Tora so Hiei couldn't voice or _act out _his disapproval. For a second his fingers tapped against the hilt of his katana.

"Hn…" While Tora was clearly joking, it made him ponder his opinions of her again. He wasn't really sure why he was making such a fuss over her, not sure what it was about her that continued to hold his attention. It wasn't just distrust that made him watch her.

She was a female, a demon, a jaganshi, a half-breed, an _attractive _one…

Woah! Where'd that last thought come from!

Quickly his anger fizzled, and he darted through the air after the two drama queens. Slaying either of those women would only be a waste of energy… His expression went flat as he watched Botan sway out of the fureasei's lethal reach, probably goading the demon about her earlier _joke _still.

He wasn't angry anymore… Mildly irritated, sure. Greatly baffled, definitely.

But his fascination by Tora was supposed to be the last thing on his mind.

There were plenty of other things which should hold his attention.

_Betrayal… _

* * *

AN: Much thanks for the reviews! Please keep writing them 'cause it really boosts my ego—I-I mean… it gives me motivation! I hope you'll review again. (big grin)

So, where the heck did Kurama go! And is he going to turn back into the coldhearted Youko? Heehee…

Hiei: Asking when you already know the answers… Baka.

Wolf: Hey! It's called publicity!

Hiei: Is it?

Wolf: Er… Dammit, you're trying to confuse me, aren't you?

Hiei: Hn.

Wolf: (sigh)


	12. Oddity of a Seer

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I merely have a few rights to my OC Tora, other antagonist OCs and this story! That's not gonna change and I don't know why I have to keep pasting this up here in the first place… I mean, it IS ne? (sigh) _

Chapter 12 – Oddity of a Seer  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_You're heartless…  
__Cold-blooded…  
__This is how it will stay… _

* * *

It wasn't hard to find this Seer's hut as it was just about the only object set in the valley. It was covered with dried demon skins, the color a faded purple. Flags of silver with red kanji symbols on them waved in the gentle breeze from poles sticking into the dome. The hut itself could accommodate five average sized humans.

"After you, fairy girl," Tora said airily to Botan.

Botan pouted and then stepped toward the hut. "Er… do we knock first?"

"Unless you're willing to risk walking in on _something_," Hiei replied in a monotone.

Botan's visage turned catty. "Heehee… _Would_ we have walked in on something a minute later?"

The two jaganshi's gritted their teeth.

Tora glared at the fire demon. He had walked right into that one. Tryingly she willed her calm and mumbled, "Just… go ahead and knock first…"

"Oh, look! There's a little string for a bell here," Botan just noticed. She tugged the nylon rope and the group could hear soft chimes ringing within the hut.

Almost immediately, a woman's voice responded from within. "Come in, Hiei, Botan and Tora!"

The three exchanged brief looks then Botan pulled open the flap door. They filed into the small area, taking seats on fluffy pillows behind a short rectangular table. Hiei's eyes drew to a vase full of spears jutting out of it. He didn't care what this "Seer" had to say. Getting their names before they'd told her was probably all she could do. Tora sat crisscrossed and idly examined her hands. Botan was in the middle, sitting upright and smiling.

The Seer had her back turned to them yet. She was typically covered in an antique shall, facing a display of wax candles and other shiny baubles hanging from the candle holders. After a second she raised one hand into the air and said, "My name is Rinka… Who will be going first?" Her voice sounded a bit young, not a stereotypical "spooky" voice that imitation Seers often used.

Botan looked to Tora and Hiei. Neither of them had taken interest. "I guess I will!" she said brightly.

Rinka then turned around, folding her legs back beneath her. She had lavender eyes with two claw-like marks beneath each. A ruby colored head band pushed back most of her wavy dark blue locks beneath the shawl. In ningen years, she was likely to be in her twenties, although there were some dark circles around her eyes as if to have been deprived of sleep for a long while.

"Botan… Very well. What would you like to know?"

"Anything?"

Rinka nodded.

"Um… Do you know what—"

"Hold on!"

Botan balked, the other two switching their attention to the Seer now (though they remained _lazy eyed_). "W-what is it?"

"I'm sensing something from you… Something… bad." Botan put her nails to her lips, ready to chew them. "It's… I see lots of deaths in your future! There's too many to—"

"She's the Grim Reaper," Hiei interrupted flatly.

Rinka's eyes reduced in size, slowly shifting her gaze to the fire demon. "I beg your pardon?"

Botan laughed nervously. "Eh, heh, heh, heh… Yeah, that's kinda true. I'm the Grim Reaper, all right…"

"Oh." Rinka paused, looking down at the table in thought. Then she twisted around to grab something behind her. She turned forth and placed a silvery blue crystal ball in the middle of the table. Various different gems decorated the stand the ball was on.

Hiei and Tora rolled their eyes, returning to their previous interests.

Rinka moved her hands over the ball, hovering them over it in circular motions while she stared intently at the swirls inside the sphere.

"Ah… now I'm seeing something… Yes. You will be summoned to King Yama… who will send capable spirits in uniforms to the Ningenkai to stop the birth of the Ma-zoku… The Ma-zoku is—"

"Yusuke Urameshi," Hiei responded again.

"Wha?" Rinka muttered, looking up at him dazedly.

"You must be seeing the past, fool, because we already know this Ma-Zoku," he said, sounding more irritable.

Rinka narrowed her eyes. She ignored him and looked back down at the crystal ball. "Hm… Ah! The Ma-Zoku. The Grim Reaper is ushering him to Reikai after he's been hit by a—"

"—car. That's even further back in the past."

"You! The angry one!" Rinka snapped, glaring at Hiei. She twisted in her seat again and this time came back with three tea cups and a teapot. "Have some tea!"

The Seer hastily poured tea in each of the cups and then thrust one toward the fire demon. Hiei had to shrink back in his seat a bit to prevent the tea from spilling all over himself. He glared heatedly at the Seer, but she was already ignoring him again. She handed out the other two cups more nicely.

"There…" She stopped to heave a deep breath of air and smiled softly. Her eyes refocused on the ball. "Near future… An intervention by an old friend… A loss of two friends… You will wander astray but you will be saved… This is before the sun flashes black."

Botan blinked interestedly. "Before the sun flashes black? Why will it—"

"Hold on! Now, I will read the angry one's future. It has surfaced already…" Hiei started sipping out of the tea cup with one hand offhandedly. "Now, that is something even I can not believe!" Rinka said loudly.

Tora tugged at her ear lobe. When silence remained for a few seconds, she said, "Alright, I'll buy… What is it?"

"Hiei has TWO soul mates!"

The fire demon choked up on his tea while Botan sniggered.

The spirit girl quickly switched back to a curious expression. "But wait… who could possibly be his _other_ soul mate?"

"What, you think you know who one of them is?" Hiei growled in an undertone.

Botan grinned. "I think I do!" she replied in a sing-song voice.

"The Aura must be one…" Tora murmured under her breath.

"Hm?"

She shook her head.

"So, can you really see his soul mates? Who are they?" Botan asked, giggling a bit.

Hiei set the tea cup back on the table with a _thump_. The Seer just squinted, staring even more closely at the ball. After a moment, she sighed and shook her head. "No… I'm sorry. The image is blurry… Unfortunately for the angry one, he will lose one… possibly _both _soul mates…"

"Lose them? What exactly do you mean by that?"

Rinka closed her eyes, frowning sadly and shaking her head.

"Huh? Are you saying that Tora might—"

Tora growled. "This is ridiculous! Don't believe what she says!" she snapped to the blue-haired girl.

Botan made the cat face again. "I think someone's embarrassed," she said teasingly. She looked back at Rinka, visage becoming somber again. "Seriously, do you see harm coming to Tora in the future?"

"There'll be much harm."

"I've had enough," Hiei mumbled dully, rising up from his seat.

"Wait, Hiei… What if she's right? Shouldn't we try to prepare for what it is? We might be able to prevent whatever—"

"We _should_ be leaving. We've wasted enough time here," Tora grumbled, getting up as well.

"Oh, come on, Tora! We could prevent it!"

"I am NOT Hiei's soul mate! That's ludicrous!" the fureasei growled, color ghosting across her cheeks. She grabbed the nape of Botan's sweater and started to drag her out.

"Hold on, Tora!" Rinka said, snatching the fueasei's other arm. "I sense something… interesting from your person. Your future… there's something I am starting to see… It's so clear… Give me a moment to read your eyes will you?"

"My… _eyes_. Don't you mean my palms?" Tora muttered in a monotone.

"No! It's there in your eyes!"

"Then read them now. We don't have time to—"

"No! Please… will you wait outside? This will only take a minute," Rinka said nicely to Botan.

Botan pouted. "Aw! I'm going to miss something good aren't I!"

Tora released her abruptly and sat back down on her pillow.

The spirit girl sighed and crawled out of the hut.

Rinka took another deep breath. She shook her wrists loosely, mumbling some incoherent mantra. After that, she stared seriously at Tora. "Now, Tora… no matter what, you must promise not to laugh!"

Tora deadpanned.

Rinka sweatdropped. "Eh… that's fine… Now, then… let's see… Oh. There it is! Yes, I see it!"

This was so stupid…

"A black wolf… A silver fox… A blue serpent… Another I cannot see. Hm… They stand around you—_below _you. They're admiring you… in a malicious way. Several moons pass and four of them leave, all but the silver fox… A fiery entity enters. Like you, he's become unstable… _dangerously _unstable… He may kill everyone…" Rinka paused, her gaze becoming far-off. They flickered completely white and then returned to normal. She leaned back, relaxing from her tense posture. "The future is bleak but it might be prevented… if… Someone were to intervene now," she said suggestively.

Tora gave her a flat look. "A Seer perhaps?"

"Perhaps."

"Forget it."

Rinka knitted her brows together angrily. "If you're worried I will slow you down, worry not! I've lived in this hut for a long time by myself now. Don't you wonder why demons haven't come to eat or harm me yet?"

"I figured they were warded off by your lunacy…" Tora murmured, leering off to the side.

"You _know _I'm right about your future. It's inevitable unless you start doing something now."

"All you suggested was that I'm going to have some days of torture. My death is uncertain."

"That goal you wish to obtain… That will also be lost if you do not do something."

There was a pause in silence. Tora frowned. No, she wasn't actually considering believing this harebrained woman, was she? "It's not up to me," she said shortly, closing her eyes.

Rinka cocked her head to one side. Then her features softened into a knowing smile. "Aw… the angry one, I suppose?" Tora didn't respond. "If he says I can come, it'll be settled then?"

The fureasei stood and ducked out of the hut. For a second she considered urging them all to run away…

Rinka came out quickly and locked on Hiei. The Seer's shawl had fallen around her shoulders, wrapped around her neck as a scarf now. Her long wavy hair whipped in the wind, the tendrils nearly poking Tora's eyes when she passed. Oh, this would be _fun_…

"Hiei… I offer my assistance to you. Please accept it," she said.

Botan looked confusedly to Tora, who merely shrugged. Hiei raised an eyebrow at the woman. "None of us are going to carry around a Seer on our backs."

"I can use my own legs. Rest assured, I can keep up too!" she said brightly.

That smile looked horrifyingly similar to a certain spirit girl's.

"Forget it," the fire demon said.

Tora chuckled softly. Hearing him say it reminded her how ridiculous it was to even think about allowing a Seer to accompany them.

"Wait, Hiei!" Botan said. Her brows creased into a frown at Rinka. "Is there a reason you want to join us?"

"I do believe my time with the three of you will be short—but it may bring a change to certain bleak futures I've spoken of." She paused, and then added, "Plus! I will be able to read some more into your futures! Including… reading the futures of your love lives!"

Botan wouldn't mind some insight into her future, she didn't care to admit. She also had yet to find out what was going to become of Kurama, where he was and what he might be doing… Slowly she looked between the two jaganshi demons. Their faces had become unreadable.

"It wouldn't hurt to let her come…" Botan finally said. "She's saying that she can take care of herself, right Rinka?"

The Seer nodded.

"She could come in handy!"

Hiei grunted, turning toward the northeast. "Do what you will. If you want to tag along then go ahead. Just don't expect us to come for you when you fall," he said and darted off.

Botan and Rinka blinked, then looked to Tora.

The fureasei snorted softly. "Good luck," she muttered insincerely and jetted off next.

The grim reaper shook her head at their cruelness. Then she looked back up at Rinka and smiled. "Don't mind them… I don't think they'd really ignore a call for help."

"That's alright… Well… best be off," Rinka said and bolted through the air too.

Botan blinked in surprise. "Oh… I guess she really _can _keep up… What am I doing standing around!" she said, quickly hopping on her oar and floating away.

* * *

"You realize that Botan has an ally to further _goad _us?" Hiei muttered as he and Tora leapt along the fields.

Tora smiled thinly. "Maybe you're looking forward to it. It'd be easy to take me as yours when someone else _forces _you to, right?"

Hiei narrowed his eyes. "No amount of badgering or spells will give you my affection, youjo."

"Well, that's a lovely pet name."

"Don't waste your time with me."

"Who said I _wanted _companionship… akudou."

The fire demon flashed Tora a severe look. Tora merely returned a closed-eyes smile. Which incidentally had a strange effect on Hiei. He wasn't sure what it was, this… fuzziness somewhere in the chest… His eyes became dots when one solution crossed his mind.

No… Hiei wasn't looking for companionship either. The closest thing he had to that kind of relationship had been with Mukuro, and when he'd achieved that he'd almost soon had to give it up. That was thanks to an "incident" one day when Hiei was on patrol searching for stray ningens.

Bitterness still resulted when he thought of it.

"Stare much?" Tora asked cheekily when the fire demon's gaze hadn't yet left her.

He frowned and looked forth. Tora was a good _comrade_ and that was all. The girl had her own reasons for being there with him, and one happened to do with the Reikai prince. Thinking on that, he wondered what made Tora agree to aid Hiei. Perhaps she wanted to take revenge on the Ten of Makai. Or maybe Koenma even blackmailed the fureasei…

It didn't matter…

Soon it would all be over…

They would go their separate ways.

The Grim Reaper was thinking otherwise. "Hey, I think they're getting along," she commented happily, floating alongside the Seer.

Rinka watched them, always fascinated to witness the premature flames of a future. Even the happiest of endings had to take trials before attained. In fact, the Seer was starting to get bad vibes forewarning a nearing atrocity. Well… sometimes her predicted "atrocities" could be something like a paper cut…

Then her eyes flickered to white briefly. Ah… now she saw it…

"Trouble nearing…" she said.

Botan looked over at her with raised brows. "Huh? Did you say—" Abruptly, the spirit girl's attention was redirected on the jaganshi demons up ahead.

Both had stopped. Tora was standing next to Hiei, who was knelt down covering his head. This couldn't be good… Botan had barely set a foot on the ground before suddenly the fire demon drew his katana and took a whack at Tora. Botan and Rinka both gasped and scuttled backwards while Hiei came barreling by them after the fureasei.

"What's going on? I've seen them fight but Hiei…"

"That's not really Hiei," Rinka said, hazily watching the two jaganshis get further and further away.

Tora grunted, just blocking a hard vertical slice the fire demon delivered. The attack made her knees buckle but she still managed to attack him with her other twin blade. She hit the katana hard enough to throw it out of Hiei's hands. Both blades flew off out of reach. Surprised that she'd _actually_ disarmed the fire demon, she'd taken her eyes off him, which he seized to rip her remaining twin blade out of her hand and cast that away too. Tora fell back after that. Quickly she rolled out of the way when he made to tackle her. The fire demon's hand dug into the ground where she just was. He was attacking fiercely, blindly.

Or rather, the Aura was. Apparently the creature was really ticked off. Tora still couldn't understand what the deal with this Oora was. She could safely guess that the Oora wanted to annihilate her, but why? Did Ooras get crushes?

Eye widening, Tora narrowly dodged another swipe of Hiei's lethal hand. While he was regaining his balance, Tora looked about herself.

They were still in the stretch of valley, a place that was kind of like an airplane landing strip but was bordered by small mountain chains. They were battling on one side of the valley, Tora edging along the rocky wall while Hiei tore chunks out of it as he tried to hit his target.

Tora got a glimpse over Hiei's shoulder to see the twin blade he'd ripped out of her hands spiked into the wall. When he got his hand caught in the rocks, she jumped over his head and yanked the weapon out, stepping back with it ready at her side…

But what was she going to do with it? She couldn't hit him with _this_…

Was she really going to have to hit Hiei again to snap him out of it? To help him regain control of himself? The answer was probably yes, unless she wanted to become minced fureasei meat. Since they'd gotten a night's rest back in Kuro-Ryu, one blast of demonic energy wasn't going to harm him too bad…

Still, she didn't want to do it… But if it was the only way…

Hiei had gotten his hand back from the wall.

It had to be done…

She sheathed the one twin blade and then her forearms started to glow of her demon energy. The grayish-purple eyes which had replaced Hiei's crimson ones flashed angrily, remembering what came next from the last time this had occurred. Hiei instantly became a blur in a sudden boost of speed and was on the fureasei before she could move. He slammed her into the rocky wall, shaking a stream of pebbles loose. Then he sunk his teeth into her neck, biting down _really_ hard.

Tora grunted in pain. Blood rushed out of the punctures down her skin. Against her will, her hand automatically latched onto the twin blade at her side. The sound of metal piercing flesh disrupted the animal growls of Hiei.

A second later, the pressure on her neck ceased.

Things went quiet.

Slitting her eyes open, she saw the two shocked crimson orbs staring at her neck. And looking a little lower, she saw her twin blade stuck into his stomach near the side. Eyes saddened, she took out the blade. Hiei barely flinched. Tora sighed quietly and slumped back against the wall. In her head, she thanked the gods that one was over. One horrible way to die was to be eaten alive… and Hiei… she hadn't delivered a _severe_ wound to him.

Busy catching her breath, she hadn't noticed Hiei had switched his gaze to her. Timidly she looked up into them. She could only see shock in them. Shock that she had struck him? Shock that he had bitten her? Maybe both? She cocked her head to one side curiously.

"I didn't know you were part vampire, akudou," she said, expending some energy to sound teasing.

Hiei frowned and tore his eyes from her. Quick as a flash, he leapt back from her, going over toward a rock formation near the center line of the valley.

Tora sighed. She raised a hand up and gingerly placed it over the bite mark. The Aura probably wanted to rip out her jugular vein, a thought that made Tora wince.

Botan and Rinka approached her, peering cautiously over their shoulders at the fire demon. When they reached Tora, they stopped, fearful eyes falling on the injured fureasei.

"W-what happened, Tora? Why did he—"

"This was an act of the Aura," Rinka said before Botan could finish her question.

"Huh? Are you saying that the Oora _possessed _Hiei?"

Rinka nodded. "It hasn't been the first time either. He may even completely lose control as the distance between the two closes in."

"What's going to happen? Will the Oora take over Hiei's body completely?"

Tora didn't stick around for the answer. She sheathed the blade again and darted across the field. Along the way, she scooped up her other twin blade and Hiei's katana and went on until reaching Hiei. The fire demon was sitting on a pale log, turned away from Tora. She stopped near him, watching for a moment. Then she plopped down on the ground, legs bent up. The ground was cold, had stray pebbles dusting the surface. She picked up one between her feet and turned it in her fingers. With a flick of her wrist, the pebble darted through the air and hit Hiei's shoulder.

The fire demon slowly looked over his shoulder, eyes narrowed.

Tora smiled mischievously and tossed Hiei's katana over to him, the fire demon catching it with one hand. "Are you hurt, akudou?" the fureasei asked casually, "It was a reflexive action when I stabbed you but… at least I only pierced the edge of your flesh, right?"

Hiei turned his eyes away from her again.

Sighing, Tora picked up another pebble. This one was significantly round, smooth as a gem. She juggled it through her fingers idly, her golden eyes moving to the corners to see Hiei.

"I'd heard that your community service to Makai hadn't been finished… because you disappeared. Ran away to the Ningenkai… Why?" she asked, looking to ease this uncomfortable tension.

Hiei shrugged a shoulder. "I did something… The person I was working for might've had to take the blame for it so I went berserk, pretended to at least, so she wouldn't get in trouble with our new demon order."

"Mukuro?"

The fire demon flinched. Tora saw his hand clench around his wounded side more tightly and his head turned toward her a bit. "You know her?"

"I watched the Makai Tournament broadcasted on TV. It was all throughout Makai, of course. Koenma also told me a bit about her… and your connection to her."

Hiei lowered his head.

"Does she… mean a lot to you?" Tora queried, feeling stupid for asking. This had nothing to do with the task at hand, nothing to do with her. Besides, she would only be setting herself up for disappointment. Mukuro had to mean a great deal to Hiei—more than Tora ever would…

Not that she cared…

"She's a comrade…" Hiei suddenly said. Tora's expression had stretched in alarm and her heart had leapt in her throat. Silently she willed her pulse to return to its normal pace. Then Hiei added, "…A friend."

Friend? For Hiei, that had to really _mean _something, didn't it? It's not like he'd ever admit being _in love _with someone so…

_Why _was she thinking like this? She shook her head at herself and tossed the pebble in the air, catching it again with two fingers. The pebble was actually the same size of a…

"…Tear stone," she whispered, brows furrowing.

Hiei looked over his shoulder at her. "What?" he muttered flatly.

"Nothing…" she murmured, barely audible. She dropped the pebble and smiled at him. "Tell me… you _have_ brushed your teeth recently, right?" she asked, brushing a hand over the bite marks.

Hiei leered at her. He really didn't see how she could find what happened earlier amusing in the least. His expression went emotionless as the other two women came within their reach.

Botan put a finger to her lip thoughtfully. "You know… I can heal both of your wounds. You should let me do that now. They're not looking so pretty."

"No thanks," both jaganshi demons said at once.

The spirit girl sighed, drooping down. "Well… are we going to camp out here for the night?" she inquired, picking up her spirit again. "We've covered a great deal of ground and this location isn't so bad. The weather's decent… no demons about to disturb our sleep… Rinka, do you see anything bad becoming of us here?"

Rinka surveyed the valley as if seeing it for the first time. "No… nothing truly bad."

"Well, okay! I'll get a campfire started!" Botan replied brightly and walked off with Rinka shortly following.

"Hm… Perhaps they _are _soul mates…" Rinka mused quietly to the blue-haired girl.

Botan smiled. "Yep! See, I told you!"

* * *

AN: Heh… my word count has reached up quite high… I'll make this short: Thanks for the reviews as usual! And I'd be eternally grateful if you'd **review** now!

Hiei: What? No thousand word drabble this time?

Wolf: Hardy har har… Oh, and look forward to a familiar face in the next chappy!


	13. Stained By Blood and Tears

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. However, all the OCs like Tora, Kyuushuu, Usotsuki, Shibui, Shuuki, Ryuuri, and so on and so forth… Those characters are MINE! Mwahaha! (is suddenly surrounded by the Ten of Makai elite) Ulp… Uh… Hey, guys! Whatsup? Oh! And I ALSO own the plot of this story too! _

Chapter 13 – Stained by Blood and Tears  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_Affection of any kind will only make you vulnerable…_

* * *

Kurama gazed out on the horizon, gone ablaze with the falling sun. It was bleeding into night. Faint stars were starting to dot the darker parts of the sky. Clouds loomed in the west and slowly made their approach for the northeast.

The redhead now stood in a building that resembled a defense garrison of ancient times. It was large, had spacious rooms and the entire top level was one room, lined with a marvelous balcony. Kurama had his palms set on the smooth stone guard rail, an unreadable look on his face. This building was nestled in between a dead forest and demolished village. Long ago, as Youko Kurama he'd accepted his first job from the Ten of Makai here.

_Clacks_ echoed from within the large room behind him.

Honestly he wasn't sure what to expect, wasn't sure what would become of himself. As much as he'd tried to predict the outcome, he only came up with a hundred alternatives. Analysis to the highest degree couldn't ease his mind.

The footsteps carried onto the balcony and stopped short of the redhead.

Kurama's jaw clenched for a second and then he turned to face the new presence.

Standing before him was the gray-eyed coyote youkai.

"Shibui," Kurama acknowledged quietly. Despite the gentleness of his voice, his emerald eyes were far from that.

Shibui made a smile that looked close to becoming a sneer. "Kurama… How long have you frolicked with the ningens now? Seventeen years?"

"You were going to come after me."

The coyote crossed his arms.

"You've known where to find me for five years now. I'm surprised no one came earlier…"

"Shuuki visited you," he disagreed lightly. Kurama's eyes narrowed. "She was elated when you changed back into your fox form at the Ankoku Bujuustkai. That didn't last of course… Do you detest your old life so much?"

"I haven't forgotten it."

Shibui smiled, his eyes glinting oddly in the dusk glow. "I suppose you're wondering if we intend to blackmail you into returning to us… by say, threatening the lives of your ningen family, is that right?"

Kurama reluctantly nodded. He knew the Ten of Makai weren't completely cut off from the Ningenkai, even after the changes Enki had made. "I… have other questions as well."

"Do you?" Shibui queried amusedly. "What questions would those be?"

"An Aura… she's manifesting, soon ready to be stripped of her powers…"

"Yes, she's an interesting one."

The redhead paused, mulling that answer. "There's only a few which are under this status?"

"Very few. The other ones are weaker though. I'm assuming the Aura you're inquiring about is the one who's compatible with that half-breed demon you've traveled with… the male one?" Kurama didn't answer. "Yes, I think their compatibility is near perfect… Our leader has long been waiting for this…"

Kurama's eyes widened slightly. If his assumptions were correct, then that would mean—

"Very soon, the Ten of Makai will be the sole order of the three worlds and our ruler will be the ultimate god. We'll be sitting at the top and everyone else will answer to us."

"But _Hiei _is the one compatible with this Aura… How do you intend to—"

"—intercept the power?" Shibui finished. He chuckled and said, "That's a secret. I wouldn't dare tell a traitor kitsune like you such confidential information. However…" he paused, his eyes narrowing on the redhead. "…Our leader… is interested in you. He still thinks you would make a fine addition to our ranks."

"Are you offering me entry into the Ten of Makai?"

The coyote nodded. "Who knows… if you do what we ask, you may even get let into the loop regarding the confidential stuff…"

Kurama frowned. His senses were picking up something else behind Shibui's words. "Is this really an offer? Or will you not accept 'no' for an answer?"

"Heh… you can only be our friend… or our enemy. There is no 'in between'. You deny the offer and we'll be coming after you, since you'll likely go on to help that half fire, half ice demon…" he replied coolly.

Eyes widening slightly again, Kurama realized that he was cornered. If he said no, that would probably mean the end of his ningen family's lives. And perhaps they even had a subordinate close to Hiei… in Tora. Kurama couldn't be certain if Tora was still loyal to the Ten of Makai… or if they might have blackmail ready for her too should she defy them. The collar had still been functional on her. Those Ten of Makai collars were the signs of their allegiance. Kurama had never gotten one because he'd departed before it came to that.

Botan too… could be in danger.

"Well, Kurama?" Shibui asked. The redhead looked back up at him slowly. "…What's it going to be?"

* * *

Tora twisted and turned in her sleep. Her skin started to perspire with cold sweat. It was the dead of the night, quiet, dark and still but for the fureasei's clipped moans and grunts.

Nearby, a certain jaganshi began to stir too as Tora's nightmare persisted. Though he looked to be in much more pain. The wound at his side (wrapped in bandages Rinka conveniently carried around) began to turn red, the white material becoming blotted with fresh blood. Hiei's eyes slit open only to clamp back shut tightly.

His insides felt like they were being pawed at with dagger sharp claws. The unhealed wounds he'd bore in the past few days seared unnaturally. Then his heart was grasped by a ghost's chilling hand. He had the urge to scream out in pain but something was blocking his windpipes. Maybe a second, a minute or an hour passed before one grunt managed to escape him.

Tora pried her eyes open, gasping for air. She sat up from the ground, startled, her golden eyes glinting in the faint moonlight. Her breathing seemed to be too loud for only _her_ lungs to produce. Then she noticed that she wasn't the only one struggling to take in air.

Her eyes flitted over to the fire demon nearby, sprawled out behind the log. One of his arms held to the wound she'd given him earlier. Botan and Rinka had given him as much aid as he would allow but the wound was still bleeding… Wait… It _shouldn't _bleed that much…

Something dawned on the fureasei. Her breath hitched. Had this been…

Hiei dropped his head back, glad _that _was over. It was like some invisible thing was mauling him, reaching inside of him and trying to pull out his vital organs. He felt a pair of eyes on him and looked over to see Tora gaping at him. She must've seen him writhing in his sleep.

He sat up, betraying a wince, and subconsciously still holding firm to his hurt side. He gave the fureasei a sidelong glance. "Did you see that?" he asked flatly.

Tora's frightened expression didn't change. "I… I think I did it…" she whispered, voice a bit hoarse.

Hiei's brows furrowed confusedly. "Don't be stupid. You were asleep."

"How'd your wound get reopened?" she asked stiffly, clenching her jaw.

Hiei couldn't answer that one.

"I did it…" she hissed quietly.

Before the fire demon could ask if the girl had finally snapped, she abruptly took off. Hiei's brows rose. With an effort, he stood up to his feet and went to catching up to her. His legs threatened to give beneath him but gladly the fureasei didn't try to keep running and running.

Tora stopped a mile away from the campsite, bent over with her hands on her knees.

Hiei came up behind her. Admittedly he was a _little_ worried about the girl. Tora really didn't seem like the type to get so rattled by nightmares or have spells of panic attacks. It was so unexpected that he was at a loss for words.

"It's too dangerous for me to stay around you any longer…" Tora suddenly said.

Hiei's brows crinkled lightly. "Why?"

"Why? You experienced what I could do first hand just a few seconds ago! I didn't even do it on purpose…"

"Right. You _didn't _do it on purpose. It isn't going to happen again. Now… care to tell me what the hell you're talking about?" he queried in a monotone.

"My emotions are unstable—_I _am unstable!" she continued, seeming to be talking to someone else entirely. Quietly she added, "And I always have been…"

"What do you mean your emotions are unstable? From what I've gathered—"

"You haven't known me that long, Hiei!" she interrupted, standing up and whirling on him. Hiei nearly balked at the sight of a tear rolling down her cheek. "Listen… I'm not even needed in order for you to go on and eliminate the Aura. My continued presence is unnecessary—I'm sure I… I can't be _that_ important to you anyway," she laughed…. Or at least, _tried _to.

There was a long pause, Hiei's face completely unreadable. Tora, however really was losing her composure. The fire demon could see Tora's sorrow written all over her face. "Fine… Go," he finally said.

Tora smiled weakly and turned away from him.

She was really going to leave... Hidden inside, Hiei felt his mind beginning to reel. Why was he having these _feelings_?

"Wait, Tora…" he said, keeping his voice even.

She didn't hear him and leapt.

Without thought, Hiei pounced at the fureasei and caught her midair. They fell to the ground. Since Tora had half-turned before Hiei grounded her, they landed in a way where her face was rested in the crook of his neck. Unknowingly her arms trailed around to embrace him.

It was even more soothing than the first time she held him… "You're… warm," she muttered.

"You thought I was literally cold-blooded?" Hiei murmured and lifted his head up to look into the girl's golden eyes. They looked a bit wet but no more tears were actually falling out. For some reason he felt vaguely angry… What made _this _girl want to cry? _This _girl had the strength prowess of an S-class demon. Since he'd first saw her, he could tell that she was the lone-wolf type, devoid of emotions which held her back. Kind of like himself.

Tora closed her eyes for a moment and smiled. It was a sad smile… Then she reopened her eyes, a mix of concern, puzzlement and pain in them. "Neither of us want this, remember?" she whispered.

"I think you do, youjo," he replied coolly.

She looked away, shaking a bit with laughter.

Hiei deadpanned. "I want answers."

The girl dropped her head back to the ground, smiling weakly. "Answers… Alright… what's your question this time?"

"Why were you chosen to help me?"

Tora clenched her jaw briefly, staring at the dark sky. "Because of this 'spiritual energy' I possess. Remember?"

"You've only used it on me once."

A solemn look glazed over her eyes. "I know…" she whispered. "I'm stubborn to no end… _Intimacy _just… well…"

"Never mind."

Tora looked at him, question on her face.

Their eyes locked for a solid minute. Hiei wanted to understand those golden eyes. He wanted to know what it was that brought hurt to them. At the same time, thoughts of rejection irked him.

The fureasei seemed to catch this somehow. "It's not because of you," she said.

Hiei narrowed his eyes accusingly.

"Don't worry… I didn't intrude on your thoughts. It's on your face," she explained with a closed-eyes smile.

Dammit, he hated that smile. It gave him a pathetic hope that it was genuine, that _he _could make her happy.

The girl sighed. "If things were different, I might even stay with you here forever…"

Hiei felt his brows rising up into his headband. "What stops you?" he asked carelessly.

Tora quietly slid out from beneath him, sitting up. Hiei got up as well, the pain from the reopened wound unnoticed since he was peculiarly enthralled by the fureasei. She was smiling softly, her eyes a bit tired but with a tinge of deviousness in their golden irises.

"Hm… Well… This is it. I bid you a fond fare—What are you doing?" she broke off as the fire demon reached over and grabbed her above the elbow.

Hiei stayed silent, curious by her. She was thinking of something… and he wasn't about to let her go without finding out what it was. He also wanted to find out the secret _from_ _her_, without using the Jagan.

Tora narrowed her eyes but they weren't angry. "Hm… What will it take for you to let go?" With her free hand, she raised it up to her forehead and touched her headband over the Jagan eye. Her golden eyes closed. "Let's see… With the Jagan's power I will look into your mind and find your weakness…" She couldn't be serious, since the tone she used was mimicking Rinka's "Seer" tone.

After a second, she opened her eyes and gave him a sly look.

"Ah… so _that's_ it…" she mused quietly.

There was a pause. And then:

Next thing the fire demon knew, she was kissing him.

His eyes had widened momentarily of surprise. Then the feeling sunk in. Heavily.

Instinctively he slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer. His blood rushed, his head felt light, and the more their body heat mingled in the confined space, the more the fire demon was losing touch with reality. Hell, he lost it the second Tora's lips touched his. The taste of her was intoxicating. While _she _was the one who initiated the kiss, the fire demon had quickly reined command and kissed her back hard, slowly pushing her to the ground.

This was a lot better than he thought it'd be… Who knew a kiss could be _this _good…

"Hiei…" Tora said, her voice muffled. The fire demon nipped at her lip, reluctantly pulling off her after he felt her hands push his chest.

"What?" he breathed.

The fureasei was flushed, blinking in surprise at him. "I… uh… Well…"

"Out with it, woman," he snapped impatiently.

Tora blinked again. She heaved a sigh and tilted her head back. "I really am going to leave tonight Hiei…"

Hiei narrowed his eyes. What was she talking about? She could actually say that _now _after _that_!

"Don't follow me."

Stunned by the sudden vehemence in those few words, Hiei couldn't stop the girl from shooting out from beneath him, becoming a blur bouncing along the field. Quickly he got up to his feet and raced after her.

He watched the blurred motion of Tora jump up onto the nearest mountain range. Just as he was to jump on the platform she'd landed on, her golden eyes flashed back at him momentarily. His leap for that same platform was aborted as the rocks went crumbling down, forcing up a thick cloud of dust. Hiei recoiled from the collapsing earth, shielding his eyes with one hand.

The dust settled a bit and then he jumped up for a different platform, hurriedly scanning his eyes over the stretches of mangled land beyond. But he could no longer see Tora. He couldn't even sense her.

Gone…

_I told you she'd leave you… _

* * *

AN: I hope I didn't rush that… But I'm thinking this story might be around twenty chapters long… I'll seriously work on keeping Hiei in character! Unfortunately I'm fairly certain I've made him a bit OOC a few times already… (grins nervously) Oh, and, are any of my Kurama/Botan readers er… still reading? (sweatdrops)

REVIEW! Please and much thanks yous!

Wolf: Er… ahem… What'd you think of the romance-ish scene, Hiei?

Hiei: …

Wolf: You're not blushing are you?

Hiei: (growls and bares teeth)

Wolf: Ooookay… And now to try out my 'invisibility trick'! (turns into a banana)


	14. Needles of Truth

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters! (whispers) Although I am getting close to legally owning a certain fire apparition… Mwahaha! (a random katana gets thrown at the authoress) Okay, okay! That's not true. (grumbles) However, the plot of this story, the original characters of which I created, as well as certain bands and terms… oh, never mind! I don't own much. Let's just leave it at that. _

Chapter 14 – Needles of Truth  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_You were a fool to have nearly given your heart away...  
It's a good thing she's gone..._

* * *

Hiei couldn't help but feel angry but wasn't entirely sure who he was the most angry at. Kurama was gone, possibly paying off debts to the Ten of Makai as he was thinking at the very moment. Tora abandoned him, after stealing _close attention_ from the fire demon without one damned explanation. And this damn Aura was just pissing him off! Heart... yeah right. 

This could possibly be the most angry he'd ever been in his entire bitter life. But then, _every _time felt like the worst time, didn't it?

Tora… now that woman was just like a drug to the fire demon. It occurred to him that getting himself involved with her was only going to weigh him down. These emotions could and would be used against him. Possibly even by her. He had a vulnerability and it was exposed, like a bull's-eye target painted on his back.

Did that woman feel nothing when they kissed?

Had she worn a façade mask the whole time?

"Hiei!"

This had been part of the Ten of Makai's ploy. And the Aura was used by them to manipulate Hiei's thoughts. However, if the fire demon were to believe that, then he might just as well lie down and die.

"HIEI!"

"What, baka!" Hiei snarled, whirling on the spirit girl and Seer.

The two girls blinked, balking in fright at the darkness of those crimson orbs glaring at them. "Um… where's Tora? I think we should probably be leaving soon. Rinka said a sand storm will be blowing through this valley tonight," Botan said.

Hiei turned forth again, looking over the lands of which Tora had disappeared in. He hadn't moved from the platform since last night, sitting there with his arms folded on his knees, unwilling to sleep in case he missed her return. Of course, by now, that pitiful expectation had emaciated. In fact, it was gone like her.

"She's left this place," Rinka said vaguely.

Botan looked over to the Seer confusedly. "Left? For where?"

"…It's hard to say…" Rinka's expression was twisted in confusion, staring blankly at the rock wall in front of her.

"Well… she's coming back isn't she?"

Silence reigned for a cold thirty seconds.

Hiei twitched slightly, his ears pricking up for he thought he'd just heard something. It was a minute laughter. It seemed to carry on the wind. Before the fire demon could've traced its origin, it abruptly stopped…

* * *

"Heeheehee… Silly, nilly sister! Very bold of you to attempt getting in my way!" 

"YOU are the one who confronted ME, lunatic. I would have been fine just ignoring you…"

"Aren't you curious as to _where_ I am going!"

"N—"

"I'm off to fetch me some meat to feast on! Shibui suggested so for our newest associate! And this meat I search for was supposed to be located around you? Where are the other ones?"

Tora's sister was a dangerous madwoman, manic but tricky, eccentric but patient. To top it off, she had the power to dwarf or step up Tora's demonic abilities at will. Often, Ryuuri had used this control to force Tora to murder and she also greatly took advantage of the Tora's inability to slay her blood family.

The two sisters naturally despised each other to the highest degree.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Tora replied coldly. Her fingers repetitively clenched in and out as though struggling to quell her anger. It was like this every time she saw that neon green-haired _freak_.

Ryuuri sniggered. "Hm… You fancy that short koorime reject don't you?"

Tora's brows crinkled in confusion.

"Oh. Don't you know that part of his pitiful past? He's part koorime, don't you know. He's the 'Forbidden Child' who was cast out of the Glacial Village only when he was a wee little tike. Poor kid…" Ryuuri clucked her tongue, a mock-sad expression on her face.

"His past concerns neither of us, Ryuuri. It's none of our business."

Ryuuri gasped. "Oh! Tora! How could you say such a callous thing? Have you no decency?"

"Are we going to settle our differences today, Ryuuri?" Tora asked impatiently.

The green haired yasha laughed lowly. "You know you cannot kill me, sister."

"I can beat you down."

"Ha! Very well… you are certainly free to try. Know this though… my victory over you will not be fast. I will make it _last_!"

"You make no sense as usual. Just shut up and draw your weapons."

"Tisk. Tisk. Very well, Tora, Tora, Tora… VENOM!"

Tora drew out her twin blades and rushed forth at the green haired menace.

* * *

Off in another part of Makai, the sky was neatly parted in half, one side dark and ominous with thunder clouds and the other bright and sunny. It cleaved the land below it in two, the top of the mountain below it pointing to the dividing line in the sky. The mountain was of dark gray, blackened in the shadow half and glittering faintly in the sunny half. It was truly a sight to behold. Inside that mountain however, only dwelled true monstrosities. 

Meian, the Ten of Makai's main base.

Kurama could feel the peculiar blend of Aura spiritual energy and the powerful demonic energy of the several Ten of Makai members in there, specifically the elite members. His human form would not be able to withstand the Aura energy well…

He _was _curious as to what the inner of their base looked like but was not looking forward to going there. He sighed quietly, his hands turning into fists on the window sill at his waist.

"What do you want?" he asked, feeling the presence of two others enter the small tower room.

The bright eyed kitsune, Shuuki and the younger demon, Jareru had just walked in.

"Wow! I can hardly believe it's you, Kurama! You look so different in this ningen form of yours," the female kistune said, bouncing up to the redhead's side.

Kurama closed his eyes for a moment, a bit irritated, and then turned to the other two demons. "When are we leaving?"

Shuuki blinked. "Hm… I believe Shibui said… after Ryuuri returns from her task… Yes, that was it!"

Kurama looked over to the younger looking demon, Jareru. In a way, he almost reminded him of Shura, only Jareru had a colder face, small remains of curiosity in his almond shaped orange eyes. Jareru was a bat demon.

"You've grown since I last saw you, Jareru," Kurama commented.

Jareru's eyes shifted slightly, his eyes gauging the redhead. He nodded.

Shuuki smiled happily. "Yes, hasn't he? He's also still shy as ever! Aren't ya, lil' bro!" she said in a cutesy voice, popping up by the kid's side and pinching his cheeks.

Jareru waved her off and swept out of the room. That kid idolized Shibui the last Kurama had noted, and now he could see that he was well on his way to becoming just like him. And the brown haired kitsune, Shuuki, was still peppy and bouncy as ever. Behind their human characteristics, both were deadly murderers.

But then, most demons were. It was just in their blood.

He returned his attention to the window as Shuuki began humming. What lay ahead was ominous. The redhead had something he needed to do before proceeding…

He closed his eyes for a moment and then turned to Shuuki. The brown-haired kitsune was balancing on top of a small metal mug with notable ease. "Shuuki?"

The female looked up alertly. Her ears twitched a little. "Yea, what is it, fiery prince?" she giggled.

Kurama waved aside the obvious flirtation and said, "I think I will be going out one last time before we proceed to Meian."

"Out? Where to?"

"That's unimportant. If anyone asks, you can tell them to rest assured that I will return. Can you give this message to anyone who asks?"

Shuuki stood up straight on the turned over mug, crossing her arms with a look of thought on her face. After a moment she smiled brightly and gave him the thumbs-up.

"Thank you, Shuuki."

"Anything for you, Kurama-kun!"

Kurama rolled his eyes slightly, turning to the window. This… may be his last chance to see her. When he saw her… he should probably just keep it short but another part of him thought he should at least tell her how he truly feels…

_If she'll even look at me after what I've done… _

* * *

The laughter was getting louder. _Obnoxiously _louder. Once Hiei realized that he wasn't the only one hearing it, him and the two women aimed for a clearer locality. Previously, they'd been traveling through a dead forest. Now the trees were scarcer, sticking out of dried and cracked ground. Puffs of steam rose out of some of the larger cracks. 

If a battle were to ensue, this was a better place to fight than that perilous forest. Hiei leapt out into the clearing, katana drawn and ready at his side while his crimson eyes scanned the land slowly.

Botan and Rinka landed a ways behind him, taking cover by a large boulder. Rinka had gestured for them to wait here.

"What's coming, Rinka?" Botan asked quietly.

The Seer cocked her head to one side, watching the fire demon pensively. "Hm… A very _strange_ one is coming our way."

"A foe?"

Rinka nodded.

Shrinking back slightly at that answer, Botan tapped her fingers together nervously. "Um… C-can you see the outcome of the battle?"

Rinka rubbed her chin thoughtfully. After a moment, she shrugged a shoulder and said, "Someone is going to lose their head."

Botan blinked, her eyes bulging out. "Whaaat?"

"I'm not sure whose…"

"Oh… This isn't going to be pleasant…"

Hiei slowly got out his katana, producing a slick metal sound. Everything then went quiet but for the faint hiss of steam from the earth and some birds cawing off in the distance. His eyes rolled from left to right, carefully scanning the area. He was sure he'd felt a presence from beyond the trees.

His ears pricked up at the sound of a sudden cry of a bird that'd just been struck and died. Before he could trace it, the bird fell a few yards in front of him. Actually it dangled in the air by the feet, held by a familiar neon green-haired demon.

A sickly smile came across the female's face. "Ah… here you are… and there they are…" she said, looking over his shoulder toward Botan and Rinka.

"Have you seen Tora?" Hiei asked.

Ryuuri chuckled, turning her yellow eyes back on the fire demon. "Mm… Perhaps I have. Perhaps I haven't. It depends on your question. Are you asking if I've seen her recently or if I've seen her ever because surely I have seen her at least once in my life. She is after all, my sis—"

"Have you seen her recently?" the fire demon growled, the whites of his knuckles appearing as he clenched the katana's hilt tightly.

"Well… either question would've earned a 'yes' answer as I have indeed seen her recently and unfortunately, many, many other times in my life…" she muttered frivolously.

Hiei then noticed a small blot of fresh blood on her colorful shirt. It wasn't the bird's blood.

Ryuuri's sudden laughter recaptured the fire demon's attention. She shook the bird at him. "Now, now, don't be getting fresh with me. I see the way you eye me so."

Hiei snarled.

"Personally though… I do believe I am a much finer catch than that horrible sister of mine… but alas, I—HEY!" she cried, having to hop out of the way of a flash of light that was Hiei's katana. She pouted and threw the dead bird down with a sickening _splat_. "Dammit, koorime! I was still talking! It's rude to interrupt me when I'm—GAK!" This time the blade drew a cut along her arm before she moved. She scowled at Hiei. "FINE! If you want to die, I will just have to grant you this wish! VENOM!"

A fast-paced battle ensued. Botan and Rinka blinked several times at the staggering speed. Though Botan had witnessed this type of battle a number of times before, trying to keep up with the fast movement was still headache inducing.

Several taunts from the green-haired yasha later, Hiei was about ready to seriously _snap_.

"…so is it really okay to call you a koorime?" Ryuuri queried mockingly after delivering a highly unnecessary presentation regarding the koorimes and their (mostly) all female race.

Hiei just growled in reply and took a whack at her head. Ryuuri ducked, narrowly missed as a tree behind her shattered from the slightly off target attack.

"Missed me, koorime boy! HiYAH!" she cried, trying to stab the fire demon but he parried. As she was sent on the defense again, she grinned maliciously. "I was just thinking… why is it that my sister left you? Or were you the one who told her to get lost?"

Hiei's answer was a sudden viper like strike with the katana, catching Ryuuri's shoulder. The yasha didn't acknowledge the shallow puncture though, too interested in the darker red hue of the fire demon's eyes.

"Hm… Are we getting on sensitive grounds, koorime? Was SHE the one that dumped you? That's no surprise really… She's just not one of those girls built for long-term relationships so don't take it personally, sweetheart!"

"Shut the hell up!" he snarled. His katana cut across Ryuuri's knees but it was yet another minor infliction.

The female demon grinned. "Ha! What's the matter? Did I hurt your widdle feelings? Aw…" she said in a babying tone. That was followed by a string of cackling from her as she automatically deflected any blows Hiei sent her way. One finally cut into her chin and she frowned. "Hmph… then again… you're not much of a prize anyway… What self-respecting girl would want a half-demon reject like you as a boyfriend! One lacking in brains, I suppose! Ha… Ha. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!"

_Thump._

"Eck—" Botan quickly clasped her hands over her mouth, wincing in disgust at the head rolling across the ground.

Ryuuri's head. The body of the severed demon slowly collapsed as well in front of a fiery eyed Hiei. Half of his face was coated in crimson.

Rinka narrowed one eye. "Hm… Well, I guess I was right!" she said brightly with a closed-eyes grin.

Botan gaped at the Seer.

"W-what? Why do you look at me that way?"

* * *

AN: Welp, yet another Ten of Makai member has bit the dust! But was that a little too easy? Hm… 

I don't wanna give away too much but for the Kurama/Botan fans still reading this fic… rejoice! I will finally be putting in a fair amount of K/B _fluff_ in the next chapter… I hope. (gets hit by cabbages) OW! (rubs head) Erm… I do hope you will like it, heh…

Please review! I like reviews… And mucho thanks in advance!


	15. Tigers and Cherry Blossoms

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters… yada, yada, yada… (sighs) This is so depressing to have to keep writing these little disclaimers, you know? Ah well, whatever… I **do** own any OCs that I have come up with, the plot of this story and er… terms like Ten of Makai or… ahg! You know what? I'm just gonna go sit down in the corner and suck my thumb… Yea, too much info. I know… _

Chapter 15 – Tigers and Cherry Blossoms  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_Are you letting them go…?  
__Finally realize that you're meant to be alone…?_

* * *

"WHERE THE HECK IS HIEI!"

"Gone."

"WHAT?"

Rinka gave the distraught spirit girl a slight nod. "He has left. For where exactly, I'm not sure. Your guess would be as good as mine…"

Botan slumped down, face gone blank but for her watery eyes. _I can't believe this… Everyone's… Everyone's leaving just like that… Doesn't anything matter to them? Aren't they even considering the other people who get hurt by their actions? _She sighed and rubbed one shoulder, her eyes downcast to the dead gray ground. "Well… Maybe they're all still heading northeast… We… or at least, _I _don't really have any other choice but to head in that direction too then…"

"Don't worry. I'll still accompany you."

"Really? T-thanks, Rinka…"

The Seer smiled. "Thanks are unnecessary. This just happens to be something I've seen in my visions."

"Huh?"

* * *

That was it… she was utterly lost. Her body would be devoured by the bitter sands and no one would ever remember her. But Tora shuffled along, her mind giving to lethargy. Her throat was parched, her skin felt rough, and her eyes burned from the dry wind. She had them narrowed, barely able to discern land from sky. 

_What a pathetic way to die… _

Not only would she die dismally, she would die honorless… and alone. All this time she thought that being alone was the best way to drift through life but now, she was absolutely terrified of going down by herself, being by herself, period.

She wouldn't wish this death on anyone else.

"Ahg!" she groaned, finally falling face down against the sands. The sand would bury her. This was where her grave would be.

Her eyes slowly closed and she allowed herself to drift into slumber land. At least, she _hoped _she was dreaming.

It was a chilly day but the sun was warm. A younger Tora, no older than ten (in human appearance), lie back against a beautiful sakura tree, basking in the warmth of the sun. The blossoms drifted around in the gentle wind. One settled down in Tora's open hand. Her golden eyes drifted down to it—her eyes were curious then, innocent. She plucked the petal up with her other hand and turned it before her eyes. She was actually smiling but then…

The petal started to turn black.

Tora's smile faded. Then she looked up to see that all the petals were turning black. The sky turned a gloomy gray, the sun disappearing. Tora looked down and the thin layer of snow was melting in a red substance. Startled, Tora scrambled up to her feet, inching up as much as she could against the tree to escape the encroaching crimson. But she couldn't escape it. It was everywhere…

Her eyes widened even more as she spotted something out of the corner of her eye.

Not something… some_one_.

She clamped her mouth shut, her body gone rigid. Did she dare to look at the person approaching? It wasn't like she could run away…

Reluctantly she turned her face toward the man walking through the red without a care on his face. He stopped an arm length away from the girl and glared down on her.

"There's my little girl…" he said, his voice restful but with a malicious hiss hidden within it. His black, unruly talons whipped in the wind toward Tora. Those piercing gray eyes stared daggers at her. "I've been looking for you."

Tora couldn't find words. She was afraid to speak.

"This place is familiar…" he said, casually looking about the area as though he saw nothing wrong here. "Why'd you come here?"

Tora gulped the lump in her throat. Her body began to quiver and her voice matched. "I-I-I… came to s-sit under the sakura tree… But i-it's…"

"It's dead," the man said in a mock-awed tone, gazing up at the tree.

Tora felt the red liquid seeping through her boots. She looked down and stifled a whimper.

The man looked back at the girl and smiled. "Aw… don't be afraid, my little Tora. Tora, Tora, Tora," he said gently. Tora peered up at him through her bangs. "It is only blood."

The girl's mouth went agape. "B-b-blood? W-whose blood?" she asked quietly.

The man laughed mirthlessly. "Whose blood? Don't you remember this place, sweetie?" Tora shook her head. "Well… you _were _only a pup… This place… This was where the grand Fureasei Kingdom once was. Now look at it… Nothing but a stretch of flat, ash lands."

"M-mommy was…"

"Killed here… yes," he paused, looking thoughtfully to the darkening blood. "Yes… and _you_, my little darling, were the one who killed her."

Tora looked up, horrified. "No I didn't!"

The man smacked her across the face, throwing the girl to the bloody ground. "_Don't _raise your voice to me!" he hissed.

Lines appeared on Tora's skin. Red stripes.

The man chuckled. "Tora, Tora, Tora… Do you know why I named you so?"

Tora shook her head, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her skin burned painfully from the new marks and the blood soaking into them wasn't helping.

"When you were an infant, fresh out of the womb, I placed these marks on you. I had to do it because I knew you would be the _bitch_ of the litter."

Tora tore her eyes away from him, finding her pitiful reflection in the crimson.

"Yes… the three of you were born on the same day. I was told the last one would be the defiant one…"

"W-w-who…"

"Who told me that?" Tora nodded. "Rinka. She really is quite the talented youkai. She told me that my third child would defy me! You would try to overthrow me…"

"Why'd you kill mother!"

"I already told you… _you_ killed your mother. Not me… but as for the rest of the fureasei. I had them killed because they were a threat… If I'm to become ruler of the three worlds, I have to eliminate the competition, anyone who would spoil my pursuit."

_I thought you loved mommy… _

"What was that?" Tora froze. She'd forgotten about the Jagan eye. "_Love_… You thought I loved that weak woman? She was hardly a demon. I simply used her to procure capable seeds to do my bidding for me. Three powerful youkai who I could mold over the years… A child wouldn't dare harm their father… except for you, that is..."

Tora started to shake again.

Her father looked down on her pensively and then said, "But no… not even _you _would harm me, would you?" He grinned and took a step toward her. "Just look how much you refuse to believe you killed your mother! You were but an infant, unstable… Born with a thirst for destruction!"

"N-no!"

"It's still inside you too! Isn't it, my little Tora? You want direly to harm me but you can't!"

Tora felt sick.

A bark of laughter made her flinch. Then a boot launched up into her stomach, throwing her across the pool of blood further away. Her body ached yet she didn't scream.

She'd debased herself enough by shedding tears beneath his gaze. Maybe she deserved the pain…

_"Tora…" _

_Leave me alone. _

_"Tora… Tora… Toooora." _

"Leave me alone," she croaked.

Tora slit her eyes open, barely able to feel her body at all. It was like she'd been hanging on by a thread. Her eyes opened a little further and then she could see a hazy figure hovering over her, someone looking down on her.

Once her vision sharpened, she might've preferred to go back to the nightmares…

"Aw… so, you're awake, my darling little sister."

* * *

"Is it not a beautiful evening?" Rinka said frivolously. 

Botan gaped at the Seer. "You said that about yesterday and the day before that! But NONE of these days have been beautiful! We're in Makai, we're lost, we don't know where we're going, we've been abandoned by everyone… I don't know about you but I'm beginning to starve, it's incredibly unnerving in this forest, I miss everyone, and this is NOT A BEAUTIFUL EVENING!" The spirit girl huffed, her face slightly pink from that winding rant.

The Seer blinked. Then she sighed and said, "Okay… I have a confession to make…"

Botan clapped a cold hand to her forehead, closing her eyes. "Listen… I'm sorry about that. It's just… really frustrating—this situation, I mean… I didn't mean to blow up on you…"

"These past few days, I've been expecting a certain future to occur… It would be a delightful future for you, but it has yet to come true. Admittedly my timing can be off sometimes but I _am_ sure it will happen soo—ACK!" Rinka grunted, having suddenly been grabbed by the neck of her shirt and lifted off the ground an inch.

Botan was staring hopefully at the Seer, her hands clutching to the choking fabrics. "What! What did you see! Is everything going to change! Has Hiei and Tora taken down this Oora! Tell me! Tell me!"

"Guk…"

"Why won't you tell me! Oh… Eheh, heh, heh…" the spirit girl laughed nervously, quickly relinquishing her choke hold on the Seer.

Rinka straightened out her shall and sweater, gladly accepting some air.

"Sorry…"

"That's… alright…" Rinka said warily. Just for safety, she took a step back from the blue-haired girl. Clearing her throat, she then said, "Right… this fortune of yours I've seen… It is truly _fortunate_, I believe. You looked happy in it at least."

"Rinka! Out with it!"

The Seer balked. "Okay, okay! It's um… Oh, wait. I just remembered! No wonder this future has not come yet!"

Botan's eye ticked. If this Seer was about to say that Botan had missed out on her _fortunate fortune _then the Seer's seeing abilities were likely to be thrown for a loop after a pummeling. "Go on," the spirit girl said through a plastered grin.

"Hm… this _is _the forest I seen in my vision. Perhaps it will happen in an hour, or a couple minutes even! But… ah… yes, you must go to the locality of my vision first… Hm…"

"Where? Where do I go?" Botan asked excitedly.

Rinka turned on the spot, from east to west, to north and south. After some thoughtful "hms" to herself, she turned back to the blue-haired girl and said, "Yes… I do believe you head for… that way." Rinka pointed west over Botan's shoulder.

Botan looked that way ponderously. "That way? Are you sure?"

"Yes. The locality was near a place of greenery."

"Huh?" Botan asked, raising a brow at the Seer.

"Plants. Flowers. It was quite pretty indeed. A rarity of Makai."

"So, you're not going to come with me?"

Rinka shook her head. "You must go by yourself for I was not anywhere to be seen in the vision. I might mess up your chance for a happy moment. Whatever you encounter there should not bring harm to you. But when you're finished being there… I'll be to the northeast of course. I will not stray far."

Botan blinked. After a hesitation she said, "Well… alright… So, I'm not going to be attacked by some weird forest apparitions, am I?"

"Hm… you certainly were alive in my vision… Your limbs were in tact… Yes, I think it will be a safe trip…"

Five minutes later…

"AAAAAAH! RINKA, YOU CALL THIS A SAFE TRIP!" the spirit girl wailed, eyes widened and sweat dotting her temples.

She yelped as the hog-like monster nearly caught up to her again. Luckily she managed to leap over a low branch and then duck into a tangle of thorn bushes before it caught her. Another low branch just seemed to jut out of nowhere deeper in the thorn bushes and sent Botan face-first into the ground. Groaning, she slowly rose her head up and peered back over her shoulder.

The "hog" was grunting and squeaking and _oinking _noisily as it tried to follow the blue-haired girl's path. But its stubby legs couldn't get over the low branches and its bulky build couldn't fit through the obstacle of trees and bushes following.

Botan sighed and laid her head back down for a moment. "Safe trip…" she grumbled. "Oh well… I _am _still alive… Guess I better get going."

She had to crawl the rest of the way out of the thorn bushes. Aside from getting her ponytail snagged on bushes a few times, that part of her transit was unhindered by crazy apparitions. Even though she'd been unexpectedly pursued by a hog creature, she had managed to stay on a western route. Eventually she came to a clearing where a small stream of water cut through. Patches of grass dotted around it and white flowered ivy climbed up along the surrounding trees to make the place look like a small room. Overhead the trees opened up, a small hole revealing the dusk sky.

It was unnervingly quiet here.

_Rinka, you better be right about the "happy" part… _Botan thought as she scrunched up with her hands held close to her chest.

She might've been there for about three minutes when finally something happened.

Botan jumped as she turned around to face an abrupt noise. Maybe it was that stupid hog again… Then a similar noise occurred in the other direction again. She turned quickly. _Whatever you do… don't say "who's there"… _

Twigs snapped.

"Who's there!" she piped, voice cracking slightly.

"Botan?"

The spirit girl's breath caught. That voice… That voice sounded like…

"Kurama?" she asked back quietly.

Like some kind of wonderful dream, the redhead stepped out from the wall of ivy, his person seeming to emit an ethereal glow in this shadowing forest. And those emerald green eyes… so soothing… comforting…

Contrary to her appeasing thoughts, she bristled, an anger that had been burning inside her since he left going ablaze. "Kurama! WHY DID YOU LEAVE US! WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN ALL THIS TIME! I've been afraid that you… that you…" And the fury was dying, quickly replaced by distressed tears.

Kurama's eyes widened. Automatically he rushed over and embraced the crying girl, setting his chin on the top of her head. "I'm… sorry, Botan. I've had to make some tough decisions… The last thing I wanted was to put you in danger…"

"Is… Is that why you left?"

"It's… the reason I stayed."

"What do you mean?" the girl asked, big eyes looking up at him.

Kurama crinkled his brows together, looking off to the side as though he were shameful. Ashamed of himself. Plus seeing her like this was painful to him. "I… went there to find answers. Yomi told me that the Ten of Makai are rather short-handed. They tried to recruit him and I knew they might want to force me to join."

Botan frowned. "By blackmailing or threatening you?"

"Yes. They can somehow get into the Ningenkai without having to drain their demonic energy so much. I know the Ten of Makai would not have hesitated to kill them."

"Why are you so important to them?"

"They believe me to be a threat. Considering that their elite members are dying one by one, I suppose their leader was getting a bit worried."

"So you left because Yomi informed you of their intentions… and then had to stay because those intentions were true. And… you're going to have to go back…"

Kurama nodded hesitantly. He wished he could tell her otherwise but this was the cold truth. If he didn't go back to the Ten of Makai that would mean the end of his family's lives, as well as Botan's—if they found out how dear she was to him. The right time would come. When the Ten of Makai were weakened, he could join Hiei's inevitable fight against them again.

However, defeating them wasn't going to be an easy feat to achieve. Kurama hadn't even seen the Ten of Makai's leader yet and thus knew not how strong he could possibly be.

He was snapped from thought as Botan started to quake in his embrace, tears shedding again.

"Please… Don't cry anymore," Kurama said, smiling weakly as he gently pushed her bangs out of her face.

"But you're… you're going to leave again… You'll be within the Ten of Makai's reach. You might…" she couldn't say the rest. It was too horrible.

Kurama was silent, unable to meet her eyes.

Botan sniffed and swabbed a sleeve across her face. She shook her head. "Promise me…" Slowly she looked back up to him, waiting until she caught his gaze. "Promise me that you won't die."

"Botan, I…"

"Promise," she said sternly.

There was a long pause, their eyes remaining locked on each other as though having a silent quarrel. Botan felt her heart about to drop until…

"On one condition…" the redhead started.

Botan's eyes widened as he leaned in, his lips contacting hers. The shock quickly swept away so she could take in the warmth, the gentleness, and the passion in the kiss. She pressed into the warmth of his body, drawing up her arms to loop around his neck while he put his hands firmly on her waist.

Botan thought she felt Kurama's hair brush on her cheek but when she slit her eyes open... They pulled out of the kiss and she let out an astonished breath, looking about them to see beautiful sakura petals falling around them. A sakura tree had appeared in the middle of the strange clearing, pushing aside the dead branches of old trees and the ivy to spread its own pretty branches. The stream still ran next to it. She then noticed how Kurama was smiling at her, not even looking toward the tree that seemed to magically sprout out of nowhere.

Wait. Was she _seeing_ things?

Kurama finally took his gaze from her to the tree. "Brightens up the place, doesn't it?" he said casually.

The spirit girl blinked. Then she smiled lightly in understanding. "You planted seeds around here too, huh?" she asked.

"Hm. Just remember Botan. Even in the darkest shadows, light may be found."

Botan almost felt like crying again. Out of happiness. Then she remembered something. "Um, Kurama… So, what was the one condition?"

Kurama chuckled softly. After stealing another peck on her lips, he said, "I'll stay alive… as long as you reserve a place in your heart for me."

* * *

AN: Phew. I got the chapter finished! I hope I didn't screw up the K/B scene… There'll be more K/Bness in the future… you know, when they actually can reunite. Yes, the K/B stuff doesn't end in this chapter so… please, put the pitchforks down… (sweatdrops) 

And now Hiei has left? I wonder if he's okay? Are you okay Hiei?

Hiei: (sleeping)

Wolf: Aww… (digs out a painting kit) (devilish horns pop out of head) Heeheehee… And now to take my long awaited revenge! Oops…

Hiei: (awakened by the loud noise and glaring at Wolf) (eyes the paint kit)

Wolf: (gulp)


	16. A Hero's Intervention

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters… or Yu Yu Hakusho, period. Koenma has agreed to host my cousin's birthday party though… _

Chapter 16 – A Hero's Intervention  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

_The time of decision nears...  
Will you make the right one...? _

* * *

"Ogre! How many days has it been?"

"U-uh… I'm pretty sure it's been nearly two weeks now, sir!"

"TWO WEEKS!"

The blue-skinned ogre balked, shivering as the toddler jumped on his desk, the small face gone slightly red.

"What do you mean 'two weeks'? I sent Tora to help him and she should know the _exact _coordinates of the Ten of Makai's main base so what in fish paste is taking them so LONG!" the toddler raved.

"T-There's something else too, Koenma sir…" the ogre said, shrinking back a bit more.

Koenma grumbled. "Mm… What? What! Spit it out you overgrown buffoon!"

"Botan and Kurama have gone missing recently!" he blurted.

"Hm, I wonder where they could have—AH! THEY'RE IN MAKAI TOO! OGRE, GET YUSUKE UP HERE IMMEDIATELY!" the toddler raved, pointing a finger toward the door unnecessarily.

The ogre hurried back out of the big room, whimpering.

* * *

"You love that redhead boy, don't you?" 

Botan flinched at the sudden question from the Seer and looked at her nervously. "W-w-what? Heh, oh no you've… you've got it all wrong! He's a dear friend of mine! That's all he…" Rinka was giving her a flat look. The spirit girl drooped down, sighing. "Yes… Hopelessly, madly… painfully… I don't get it, Rinka… Why do they're always have to be these complications? I didn't even actually… _tell him_ those three little words… Darn it!"

"He's an intelligent youkai. I'm sure he knows how you feel."

The spirit girl chuckled nervously. "Eh, heh, heh… Do you really think so? Still… I think I should've told him… But… maybe we'll be seeing him again sooner than I thought."

"Indeed."

"But _why _oh, WHY couldn't he tell me what he's planning to do? Well… maybe he thought I'd try to stop him but… with his calm reasoning, he could convince a dog to eat a tomato…"

Rinka raised a brow.

Botan stared blankly at the ground, her eyes distant in thought. "It's funny… how you can't admit these types of feelings until the person you have the feelings for is… gone."

"You'll get to tell him soon enough."

The spirit girl perked up, looking eagerly at the Seer. "What? Are you certain? Did you see my future?"

"That I have. In fact…" Rinka gave a sidelong glance to the blue-haired girl, her eyes pensive. "In fact… You will be seeing him again _very _soon."

Botan usually would've pulled a smile that'd reflect the sun but… there was something else behind Rinka's words. "Wait… what's the 'but'?"

"'But'? I'm afraid I don't understand."

"What's going to happen when I see him? Is he… hurt? The way you said that, it sounds like…"

"Worry not. He should be fine…"

Botan frowned. Rinka could be just sparing her feelings… Or maybe there was something else that was confusing the spirit girl, something about Rinka herself. The Seer seemed a little different…

"'An intervention by an old friend. A loss of two friends. You will wander astray but you will be saved. This is before the sun flashes black'," Rinka said suddenly, quoting herself.

Botan blinked. "Wha…? Oh, yes, that was the fortune you read for me, wasn't it…"

Rinka nodded. "Theses events occur in exactly that order. A friend will appear here in Makai. Two of your friends will meet their unfortunate end. And you, Botan, will wander away, against your own will or not. Though you will be saved, it's unclear in what condition you will return."

"Return from where?"

"Perhaps you wander away looking for someone or something. Perhaps a deceptive person misleads you. Perhaps someone pushes you into another dimension. I'm not sure where you will go."

That was a strange future. She felt slightly sick at the thought of losing two friends. "Which… Which friends are… Will they actually _die_?" she asked.

Again Rinka nodded.

"But there must be a way to prevent it! Whose lives are in danger?"

"Your future is set in stone, Botan. I am… truly sorry."

They both stopped walking along the trail, which was out in the middle of nowhere as it appeared. Stretches of dried land surrounded them, the arid wind started to pick up, carried from a desert somewhere near.

Botan bristled. "No! There must be a way to change this! Who is supposedly going to die, when, and how?"

"This fortune I've read has already begun. The intervention is occurring at this very moment. It's only a matter of time before—"

"Then tell me how we can change it before it actually happens!"

"You are powerless in this case. There is nothing that can be done."

"RINKA! Huh? What's that sound?" the spirit girl questioned, an odd whistling noise wavering on the wind.

"You will be kidnapped now. Sorry, Botan."

"Do you hear—WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN—Rinka?"

The Seer vanished. Right before Botan's eyes.

Botan turned around and around, looking frantically for Rinka. But then the sky captured her attention. It appeared to be… falling down? The gray clouds were sinking down toward her. Was it… a tornado forming? Botan made to get on her oar but the clouds abruptly shot down.

She disappeared in the heavy gray swirl.

* * *

"So, THAT'S where they all went huh? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER!" Yusuke yelled at the toddler sitting behind the desk. The Spirit Detective had gotten a message only a few minutes ago from some other girl on an oar, who _wasn't _Botan. And now, the Reikai prince had just told him about his three missing friends. 

"This thing with Hiei was supposed to only take two to three days but something must've gone wrong obviously as it's been almost two weeks now," Koenma said calmly. "We're not certain but it is likely Botan and Kurama are also down in Makai… for what reason, I have absolutely no clue."

"What about this Tora chic? Is she trustworthy?"

Koenma made a nervous sound, sucking on his pacifier loudly.

"YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW _THAT_?"

"STOP YELLING AT ME! There's no time to waste. Now, I'll have Yumi open a portal for you directly to Makai. Here, I have a tracker which should come in use… You see, I _did _manage to get a bug put on Tora. Just follow the blue dot on the screen and you should find her—OGRE, GIVE YUSUKE THE TRACKER!"

"Y-yes sir!" The ogre scrambled over to the detective and gave him a small blue circular device.

"Best of luck to you Yusuke. You'll be dealing with the Ten of Makai… unless they were somehow wiped out entirely by our missing friends."

"That's it?" Yusuke muttered, shoving the tracker in his pocket. "No briefing on these bad guys, any precautions or whatever?"

"There isn't time for that! Now, get going! Yumi's the girl with the short white hair. She's outside in the hall waiting. GO!" Koenma shouted, jumping up on the desk.

Yusuke gave him a flat look, but exited the office without further word.

* * *

_Good, Hiei. You are getting closer. Very soon… Very soon I will be set free… _

"I will be set free from you, annoying woman," Hiei grumbled out loud. He felt weak, walking along a mountain range that kept getting bigger as he moved on. He knew he was heading in the right direction. The damned Aura could attest to that.

It was a few days since he'd been without food. Only yesterday did he find some drinkable water and trying to sleep was almost an entirely futile effort for they were full of nightmares, formed by… worry. Yes, he was worried. He hated to admit it but it was true.

Damn Tora. It was her fault he was feeling all these stupid emotions.

_Forget her. She's probably dead by now anyway._

"Just stop speaking to me. You're voice is like a thousand nails on a chalk board," he growled under his breath.

_Do not take your spite for her out on me… Unlike her, I will not leave you once we meet. _

Hiei stopped, putting a hand up on the rock wall next to him to steady himself. "What do you mean? Once I find you, I will _kill _you. That's the whole point of this trek."

_Oh, but it isn't, Hiei. Just think about it. If you accept me, together we will be unstoppable. Not even that so called 'deity' King Yama could harm us if we're together. Would you really pass up such power? _

"I work alone. You're just a _leech_. I will put an end to your pathetic existence soon though."

_Don't be a fool. _

Hiei grunted and went on walking, his Jagan bringing him the most pain at the time. Was that how he was able to communicate with the Aura so clearly? To him, it always sounded like that Aura was standing right next to him, always yammering away about something. But he _couldn't _see her. And if someone of the Ten of Makai was actually having this Aura feed Hiei lies or manipulate him into doing something, he couldn't know. Once he got to this Aura's holding, someone was going to die. He was just itching to take out this aggression on someone.

Tora's face kept flashing before his eyes. She was smiling most of the time. Damn that smile. On occasion when he looked around, he thought he saw her following or running ahead of him. At one point he actually tried to catch her only to end up chasing the wind.

_Damn_ that woman. Why did she leave this impression on him? What was so special about her? Maybe she put a spell on him… or maybe this Aura manipulated him into liking her. But then… that didn't make sense because the Aura had almost driven him to kill her.

_She doesn't care about you. Even if she did, the chances of her accidentally murdering you at any given moment are extremely high. That is just the way of her fureasei breed. _

"Be quiet."

_I'm only trying to help you. _

The Aura's voice was getting louder.

Hiei got over the hill the range was crawling over and saw a strange landscape ahead. Half the land was enshrouded in darkness and the other half brightened by nearly blinding daylight. The mountain set between the contrasting areas seemed to be the point of focus.

A few tall towers placed along the land before it reached up high into the clouds almost. The structures were very thin and slightly bent like they could collapse over should the slightest wind push them. Hiei could sense no presence from them.

But the mountain exuded a pain inducing sensation. The power packed in that mountain was immense.

_Perhaps you should nap before you come in, Hiei. _

A growl rumbled in the back of his throat. He wanted to get this over with. He would either live or die today. It mattered not which.

He jumped off the range (which ended at that point anyway) and went to leap across the dark half of the valley. His legs felt weaker as he neared the mountain but he didn't pay mind to it. This would be it…

* * *

Tora felt dizzy, numb in her limbs, drained. She looked up to see that both of her arms were held on by either of two guys dragging her down a dark corridor. One of them was in white clothing, had silver hair and the other was in gray clothing, short brown hair. 

"Awake yet, Tora?" the brown haired one said.

Tora grumbled, "What's going on, Shibui? Is he going to have me hanged?"

The coyote chuckled. "Something like that."

The silver-haired one tensed.

Wait. Wasn't that..? "Youko?" Tora asked, in slight disbelief.

"Tora," the kitsune acknowledged.

Both guys kept their eyes straight ahead to wherever they were taking Tora.

A bitter smile crossed Tora's face. "Hm. I really wasn't expecting to find you here, fox. Did you realize how the rest of the world had no chance against the Ten of Makai and decided to join them?"

"I should hope that's his thoughts," Shibui muttered.

The corridor opened up into a long room. Tora immediately recognized this as the _foyer _of Meian; there were bodies of treacherous youkai pinned up on the walls by stakes, many of the bodies long decayed into bones while others were rotted and exuded terrible stenches. Yep, this was the way the Ten of Makai greeted visitors. It was also a warning to their members.

Tora clenched her jaw. "So… I'm finally to be added to the collection, huh? What an honor…" she muttered wryly.

"The fire apparition is coming. We wanna give him a grand welcome. You're just what we needed to accomplish that," Shibui replied airily.

Then the two men dropped Tora. Youko immediately left, heading into one of the many archways around the room wordlessly.

"You're not going to go anywhere. Our personal decorators will be here shortly," Shibui said and walked over toward another archway, different from the one Youko went through. He stopped to look back at the fureasei. "Is it true that you have feelings for this half fire, half ice creature?"

Tora snorted. "There's really no point in being jealous, Shibui, considering that I'm about to die."

"Hm. You shouldn't have left me, Tora. This fate would've been avoided."

"Too bad."

Shibui narrowed his eyes, lingering a few seconds longer and then exiting.

"I sure know how to pick 'em," she grumbled and stood up. Her legs shook beneath her as she walked over to the wall to look at one of the decayed bodies hanging over head. The bodies weren't all pinned up in the same way. Some had stakes through their hands and legs, others through the shoulders and stomach, et cetera. But the stakes were all of ebony color, black stone.

She wondered who the _wonderful_ decorators actually were.

Footsteps clapped around the room as two figures entered. Tora turned, watching lazily as they neared. When their figures came into view her eyes expanded in shock.

"…Rinka…" she breathed.

A frail woman, gnarling her pale hands in front of her together, was with the Seer. She cackled lowly like a witch. "Yes, didn't you know? Rinka here has been with the Ten of Makai for many, many years now. She is the second most powerful in our ranks, aren't you dear?"

Rinka's visage was devoid of emotion, her eyes unreadable. "Many years. Yes," she deadpanned.

Tora frowned. "What happened to Botan?"

"We have no reason to answer that. Let's just get this decorating done! Hiei will be here soon!" the frail woman laughed.

Hiei… What would they do to Hiei? What if he was far too weak to handle any of them, let alone ALL of them by himself?

"Are you ready Rinka?"

The Seer nodded.

* * *

AN: Everyone's gathering up at Meian for the final showdown! Who's going to lose their lives? At least two will, according to Rinka… And woah! Is Rinka _really _evil? What about Youko? What if— 

Hiei: Stop the questions, fool. They get the point.

Wolf: (pouts) Hmph. Fine, fine. But what if—!

Hiei: (shoves Kuwabara's old socks in Wolf's mouth)

Wolf: (muffled scream) (spits it out) AAH! THAT'S HORRIBLE! Bleh… I think I'm gonna puke…

Hiei: Hn.

Wolf: (twitch) Er, review! Please and thank yous! (dashes off to scrub mouth with soap)


	17. Crucified part I

_Disclaimer: See the previous chapters! Nothing has changed in regards to what I do and do not own. (grumble) _

Chapter 17 – Crucified part I  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

Tora glanced down, looking for her twin blades, which actually were still nestled in their sheaths. She twitched as the pale woman clucked her tongue.

"Ah, ah. No rough housing from you, Tora. Honestly, there's no way you can escape this so why bother?"

Tora's eyes narrowed. The physical appearance of this pale woman matched an identity in her memory. Yes, she remembered now… "You're Eizou, the shadow that devours souls," she murmured.

"Mm. So you've heard of me? You know, I am quite surprised how little you knew of your fellow Ten of Makai family. You never were very social, were you?" Eizou commented.

Tora smiled bitterly. Her eyes looked from Eizou to Rinka. "So then… what type of animal demons are the two of you? Normally I could sense it but I'm weak right now," she said wryly.

Eizou cocked her head to one side, blinking. "Well… I am part jackal. Rinka is a neko."

"A cat. Figures," Tora murmured. Cats were always such conniving creatures… in Tora's opinion.

Eizou smiled wickedly and gave a curt nod. "Do it, Rinka."

Tora's eyes widened. Before she could say or do anything, a large spike impaled her through the right shoulder. The stake picked Tora off the ground, swooping upwards and forcing her into the wall a ways off the ground. She was then dangling there by that shoulder. Blood trickled out of her pierced flesh, gradually flowing more and more. She reached a shaky hand over to touch it, knowing that there was no way she could pull that thing out.

Instead she turned a grave look on the traitor who'd just nailed her to the wall.

"Ooooh," Eizou said mockingly, "That earns her a second one, don't you think, my friend?"

On cue, another stake shot through the air and into Tora's other shoulder. This time, she couldn't help but let a hiss of pain slink out of her clenched teeth.

Eizou laughed. "Not so tough now are we? Rinka?"

Tora looked up defiantly, huffing for breath. She glared at the Seer and warningly snarled, "Rinka…"

There was a brief moment of silence. Whatever redeemable points the neko had vanished with the malicious smile that creased onto her face. Tora's eyes widened in shock.

"What do you think? Can you send a final one through her gut without killing her instantly? Remember that our boss wants her to be around long enough for her suitor to see her this way," Eizou said frivolously.

Rinka's smile tightened. A third rock stake appeared out of thin air and Rinka wrapped a hand around it, her eyes full of intent. "Yes… I think I can get it in right between the ribs. She should stay alive for at least another two hours then…" the Seer said.

What followed was the third stake lodging into the girl's gut, hitting just the spot Rinka aimed for. Tora let out a shriek of pain, tears forced out of her eyes. Her head drooped down limply, seeing parts of her body twitch from the impaling.

"Hm… she makes a lovely wall ornament," Eizou surmised, her sickening smile twisting on her face.

"Yes… Let's go now," Rinka said dispassionately and walked away.

_Eh… this doesn't feel good…_ Tora closed her eyes. There wasn't much else she could do. An image reel passed through her mind… Filled with Hiei.

She smiled sullenly, chuckling even though it hurt.

_Love is for fools._

She only knew him shortly but somehow she felt they made a connection. He was a curious demon; she had had fun trying to figure him out… And the kiss… she hadn't before experienced anything so good, so _pure_. Had he hurt when she left? Or was he just pissed off at her now? It was probably the latter.

Why had she left him? She wasn't quite sure… Her reaction to nearly killing him in sleep had been surprising even to her. She hadn't ever cared about another creature as such before. It was strange…

_Love is for fools… _

_I guess I'm one of them now… _

* * *

"Uhn… W-where am I?" a muzzy voice uttered. Botan realized it was her own. She opened her eyes, her head feeling woozy. Slowly the blurred vision before her sharpened and she was looking at a cracked ceiling. She was in a room, lying on a bed and covered in woolen blankets.

Panic overcame her. She tried sitting up only to find her body had become significantly encumbered, as if weights were chained around her limbs and neck. Wearily she turned her head to the side and found a youkai sitting in a chair next to her bed, gray eyes gazing at her steadily. Another youkai was leaning in a corner next to the open door, fidgeting and twitching restlessly.

What the heck had happened?

"Usotsuki. Go tell him she's awake," the coyote said over his shoulder.

The twitchy panther sneered at the spirit girl and then swept out the door.

"You feel very weak right now, don't you?"

Botan blinked wearily.

"That's because you're in Meian… I'm surprised you aren't bursting into flames. The demonic and spiritual energy compacted into this place can be unbearable to A-class demons and even us S-classes feel a tad hindered here."

_S-class? But we're in the A-class level of Makai… _Botan thought.

The coyote stared critically at her as though trying to figure something out. "It really is strange how you have not yet died…" he muttered.

"Shibui."

Botan looked up as Shibui did, finding a silver-haired fox standing in the doorway. Youko… Could she trust him?

Shibui rose up from the stool and strutted out the room, glaring at Youko as he passed him. The fox held his spot in the doorway for a few seconds, one of his ears moving to listen for any eavesdroppers that might be outside. Then he turned his attention to the blue-haired girl and walked further in.

"How are you feeling?" he asked in a monotone.

The spirit girl's brows creased into a frown. "…Youko?"

"You're half correct."

"Wha… What do you mean?"

"Shuuichi's consciousness inside Youko's body. That's who you are speaking to."

Her eyes widened. "Y-You can do that?"

He nodded and then sat down on the stool Shibui previously occupied. "The aura of this place must be doing a number on you, Botan."

"I know… That's what that other youkai said… Well… he said I should be bursting into flames by now… Does that mean I will sometime—"

"No. For some reason, you're able to withstand the powerful energy welled up here. Perhaps it has something to do with your origin, your status as the Grim Reaper," he surmised.

Yes, that must've been it. Botan had also exhibited an endurance that Kurama couldn't after they'd passed through that worm hole. She was special—in more ways than one to him. And right now she was right in the middle of one of the most dangerous places of Makai. How in the world was he going to get her out of there? He didn't want her to get caught up in the crossfire that was sure to ensue as soon as Hiei arrived…

"Kurama? Wh-What are you going to do?" Botan asked. In spite of what he'd said, she couldn't help but feel on edge with this notorious thief Youko form. If not for her currently encumbered state, she might be really tense and jumpy.

And the fact that he stayed silent in reply didn't ease her nervousness. His golden eyes stayed on her, unreadable, steady. She shuddered inwardly as he reached a hand over, gently brushing the flat of it across her cheek. She eased down at the touch. That touch was familiar… It was Kurama's.

But she wondered what was on his mind. Could he be worried? She didn't like the thought of that…

His eyes slowly went to the corners towards the door as he drew back his hand. Botan looked over his shoulder at the door too, seeing a shadow in the hallway. It went away almost as soon as she'd saw it.

Botan's expression puzzled for a moment then she looked back at Kurama. "What exactly is this place?" she questioned.

Kurama returned his stoic gaze to her. "The Ten of Makai's headquarters and the place many of the Auras are imprisoned."

"They're here?"

He nodded.

"Oh… How did _I_ get here anyway?"

Kurama opened his mouth, about to answer, but then a woman appeared in the doorway.

"I brought you here," she said coolly. She was an inu youkai, a very pretty one. Clad in a long, dark kimono, her hair dark black and very long, eyes of blue, she exuded the air of a cold assassin one seen in movies. What made her unique from _those_ characters though was the bushy tail and fluffy ears on her head.

"What do you want?" Kurama asked the inu.

She brought up a hand to examine her nails and sighed. "Our guest has arrived. The leader wants you to be the welcome wagon so I suggest you hop to it," she informed shortly and then exited.

Botan crinkled her brows. "Guest…? Um… who was that, Kurama?"

"I… can't tell you her name. She's just another Ten of Makai member… I have to go now, Botan," he said and stood up.

"What? You're just going to leave—"

"They won't harm you. I specifically asked that they don't. They don't find you of any threat so my request is taken without question… I ask that you not overexert yourself by trying to explore this place on your own. Alright?" he said over his shoulder as he left. His last _question _wasn't so much a _question _obviously.

Botan felt irritated. She switched her attention to her left hand, focusing on getting it to move. If she could get herself moving, she could sneak around no problem, right? She just wanted to know what the heck was going on out there. Where did her friends go?

A small smile came across her face as she got her fingers to curl slightly.

Just lying in bed, waiting for news of her friend's deaths was unacceptable. She vaguely wondered if Rinka was telling the truth about an outside friend's intervention. If she _was _right and telling the truth, Botan didn't doubt that it had to be Yusuke who was on his way.

Everyone's lives could be saved yet…

She would do anything she could to make sure of that.

* * *

At least the Aura wasn't bugging him anymore, Hiei thought as he dropped down into a narrow tunnel beneath the surface. He trudged through it, eyes easily adjusted to the dimness from traveling the dark field outside. A rank smell entered his nose as he advanced down the tunnel.

It eventually opened into a long and large room with pillars dotting it in between arch doorways. Then he noticed the bodies on the walls. "Nice décor," he murmured with a snort and went in.

He walked along the center of the room, his eyes passing over the bodies pinned on the walls impassively. Without the Aura constantly prattling on in his mind, he was feeling more like himself though the atmosphere of this place was still doing a number on his body. A cold layer of sweat had formed on his skin and looking closely, he was also shivering a bit.

Somehow he could detect which way the Aura was. He was about to choose a door when his eyes widened, body going rigid. On the wall…

"Tora…" he breathed quietly. He walked a few steps toward her, and then bolted straight at the fureasei but was rebounded. Some kind of barrier was shielding her. He growled as he punched it, clawed at it, and then he drew his katana to slash at it like crazy. The shield remained in tact, only pulsing whenever he touched it.

"You're wasting energy."

Hiei gnashed his teeth together and whirled on the voice. "Youko," he growled. "Did _you _have something to do with this?"

Youko didn't answer. He was standing in the corner, enshrouded by shadows but his lack of emotion could still be perceived.

Hiei didn't like it. "You're with _them_ now, aren't you?" he said scathingly. His hands balled into fists and he snarled, "Release her right now, fox! Before I tear your head off!"

"My orders don't include releasing the treacherous Tora from her punishment, I'm sorry."

"Treacherous? This is the price of treachery? I wouldn't want to ignore your tradition in your own territory so I'll pin you up on the wall too, fox!"

"Don't do it, Hi—" Kurama had to stop his sentence to dodge the katana swung at him. A lock of his silver hair fell to the ground as the blade just missed contacting his skin. Youko's eyes widened slightly. He couldn't have expected Hiei would be able to move at all considering the various forces pressing against the fire apparition.

"Just accept death! Your life is worthless now!"

Youko drifted back away, weaving through the pillars. He gauged just how capable Hiei was by watching his movement. It was blind rage… The type of power boost he had seen on Hiei when Yusuke died… the _second _time. This energy needed to be preserved… for the battles that counted.

"Listen, Hiei. I'm not—"

"I don't want to hear another word from you unless it's a chant to remove that barrier!" Hiei growled, taking out a huge chunk of one of the pillars as his katana hit it.

"I didn't create it! It'll only dissipate when Tora's life force is gone…"

"You think I'm just going to stand back and allow that!"

What had happened? Was Tora not a traitor? Kurama had been told that she was playing double-agent, vacillating between each side the whole time, which meant she had purposefully betrayed Hiei… But then why was Hiei behaving like this for her? What had happened in his absence anyway?

"Hiei, this is unwise! You need to reserve what strength you have to fight the rest of the elite!"

"I AM fighting one!"

The katana stabbed into the wall, pinning a small shred of Kurama's clothing there before Hiei tore the blade back out and leapt at him again.

Hiei wasn't incorrect in his last statement. Kurama was officially accepted into their ranks, replacing the dead Kyuushuu. He even had the collar placed on him the other day.

They zipped around the room, Kurama refusing to fight back. He was beginning to realize the pointlessness of that tactic and took out his rose whip. He wasn't going to attack. He just needed to stop Hiei long enough so he could talk to him.

For a few minutes, he was whipping at the fire apparition with wicked speed, trying to snag the deadly katana but Hiei was moving just as swiftly—if not a little _more_. It was a stroke of luck when the whip finally wrapped around the katana, both demon's pulling back on either weapon.

"Tora betrayed you! Why are you acting like this?" Kurama demanded, arms shaking a bit as he struggled to maintain his grip.

Hiei had already been quivering before but his arms were giving much more noticeable involuntary jerks now. "YOU are the one who betrayed me, fox!" Hiei retorted.

"She doesn't care about anyone but herself!"

"Don't you dare ridicule her! I'll shove this katana down your throat a thousand times!"

Kurama's eyes widened slightly. Hiei… really did seem to care about her… Was Kurama the one who'd been deceived? This wasn't good…

Both abruptly stopped pulling when a crackling sound emitted across the room. They looked over toward Tora, seeing sheer purple shards break like glass and disappear into the air.

The barrier broke.

* * *

AN: Meh, I probably shoulda mentioned the last chapter was a transition one! I swear! Eheh… Anyway, these last chapters I hope will be much more exciting and I'm gonna try to cram in some more romance-ness in them too… er, from _both _couples, yeah.

Please review! Feedback is always much appreciated!


	18. Crucified part II

_Disclaimer: See the previous chapters! Nothing has changed in regards to what I do and do not own. Woo! Déjà vu! _

Chapter 18 – Crucified part II  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

Hiei paled, dropping the katana and flitting over. This time he was able to get past the spot he'd been stopped previously. His jaw clenched as he reached a hand up toward Tora. 

Blood slowly dripped from her limp hand off her fingertips. She was…

Not really thinking, Hiei leapt up and started pulling out the stakes. They came out surprisingly easily and then the demoness was falling down. Hiei dropped to the ground first and caught her, cradling her lifeless body in his arms.

She was…

She was dead.

He reached a shaky hand up, brushing the backs of his fingers along her cheek to wipe away blood from her mouth. He wished he could see her smile again… His grip tightened around her as he hugged her close, falling to his knees and ducking his head into the crook of her neck. This stupid creature… She let herself get killed…

Kurama watched bemused. He had been fooled. Tora couldn't have possibly been this selfish double agent Shibui and the rest had colored her to be. The Ten of Makai elite lied to him. That meant they didn't trust Kurama either and would likely kill him off as soon as he was deemed useless by them.

He wasn't sure what to do at the moment. Before he could run through the options, he caught a strange scent on the air. He looked toward one of the entrance arch doors and someone quite unexpected skidded out of one.

"Yusuke?" he said incredulously.

The detective blinked and then grinned. "Ah, good, I found you guys," he said in his usual laid-back tone and walked over. "So, what's happen… ing… Hey, what's wrong with him?" he asked, looking perplexedly at the fire apparition on the ground.

Kurama frowned. "Tora's… dead. He cared deeply about her," he said in a monotone.

Yusuke had to double-take on the fox. "Wait? What? What do you mean he…" he trailed off as Kurama gave him a reassuring look. The detective looked back over at Hiei, and then walked over to the apparition's side. He knelt down and looked at the girl's face. An idea popped into his head. "Hey, I got it! I can lend her some of my life energy like I did with Kuwabara, can't I?" he asked over to the kitsune.

Kurama blinked. Fureasei… Tora was a fureasei holding spirit energy signatures. It just might work. He walked over to them too and said, "Yes… That might actually work. Do it quick."

"Uh… Hey, Hiei, wanna hand over the girl for a sec?"

Hiei didn't say anything or look up but relinquished Tora to the detective.

For a couple of minutes, Yusuke held the girl, trying to channel some of his life energy into her. It didn't seem that it was going to work…

Hiei turned his back to them, sitting on the ground. Yusuke frowned sadly at the fire apparition's back. Kurama looked away, unable to help feeling some guilt from this. "I guess it's too late," the kitsune murmured.

There was silence.

But then…

"Uhg…" a female voice groaned. "What…? Am I dead yet?"

The three boys snapped their attention to Tora. Yusuke grinned. "Ah-ha! Am I good or am I good!"

Tora blinked. "Who are—"

"ACK! Hey!" Yusuke grunted as he got shoved aside by Hiei, who snatched the fureasei back into his arms and immediately scanned her over.

"How do you feel?" he asked, ignoring Yusuke's incoherent grumbling. The fire apparition's voice was in its usual emotionless tone.

Tora blushed lightly, a look of surprise and confusion still on her face. "Huh? Actually… It feels like I've got a hangover…" she murmured dryly.

Yusuke snickered and stood up. "Man do I know what that's like! My name's Yusuke Urameshi by the way. I'm the one who—eh?"

The detective and kitsune both smiled nervously, sweatdropping as Hiei _kissed _Tora.

Yusuke waggled his eyebrows. "Heh… didn't see _that_ _one_ coming."

"I guess a lot more has happened in these past couple of weeks than I had originally thought," Kurama commented.

"Eh… Kurama? You wanna tell me what the heck is going on?"

Kurama nodded.

"Heheh, maybe we should give them a little privacy then," Yusuke said with a chuckle.

The kitsune nodded again and they walked over to the other side of the room where Kurama explained the situation in better detail to the confused detective.

Hiei finally let go of Tora's lips, licking his own and "hn"ing contently after doing so. Color flooded more discernibly into the fureasei's cheeks.

"I apologize—for—leaving—you," she said, Hiei nipping at her lips in between words.

He kissed her once more and flatly replied, "Don't do it again."

Tora smiled. "I won't."

"Hn."

"Okay, it sounds like we don't got much time. So if you two lovebirds are finished… What! What did I say?" Yusuke blurted after receiving two equally daunting glares from the two "lovebirds".

"I'm sorry I doubted your loyalty, Tora and I'm sorry if it seemed I betrayed you, Hiei," Kurama apologized.

The two three-eyed demons stood, Hiei keeping a protective grasp around his mate's waist. Tora shrugged in response to Kurama. "That's fine. I've never been good at socializing anyway."

"Heheh, you sure looked pretty good at it just n—Ow," Yusuke grumbled, rubbing his side where Kurama elbowed him.

Hiei's deadpanned gaze remained fixed on the kitsune. "You never betrayed me then? Is that what you're saying?"

Kurama nodded.

"Your apology will be accepted when I see you slaughter one of the elite. Until then, I suggest you watch your back," Hiei said evenly.

Yusuke grinned nervously. "Good to see having a girlfriend hasn't changed you, Hiei." Yusuke glanced about the room, not noticing Hiei shoot him a glare. Then he asked, "So, should we go get Botan?"

"No. I think she's safer left in that room."

"You _think_?" Yusuke replied to Kurama dubiously.

Kurama looked toward the door that led to her holding chamber. The Ten of Makai weren't consisted of idiots. It's likely that they put together the fact that Kurama cared about Botan's well-being. And once they saw that he was fighting on Hiei's side, they would hurt her. Not to mention the collar on his neck could be activated… They needed to do something about that or else he wouldn't be of any use to them. Eizou or their elite leader was the ones who could manually deactivate or activate the collars. Both would need to be killed.

"Tora, do you know who the Ten of Makai leader is?" he asked.

"Yes," the fureasei responded.

Yusuke rested a hand behind his head. "Is he tough?"

Tora nodded. "He's the strongest of us… next to our father."

The three guys looked at her.

"Are you saying this _leader _is your brother?" Hiei questioned.

Tora leered off to the side away from them. Kurama and Yusuke exchanged looks.

"Is he one held dear to you?" the fox asked.

Tora snorted. "Not at all. If you're wondering if I'll mind you killing him, then the answer is 'no'. By all means, end his life. His existence is pitiable anyway," she murmured, closing her eyes and crossing her arms.

Hiei wasn't sure if he believed her. Then a thought occurred to him…

"I have a collar on me…" Kurama murmured.

Yusuke raised a brow, looking a little more closely for so-called "collar". "I don't see nothin'? Are you goin' batty, Kurama?"

Tora shook her head, sighing. "I'm guessing you have your reasons for delving so deeply into the Ten of Makai's den but getting these collars deactivated… It won't be easy."

"So what do we have to do?" Yusuke asked.

"Kill a certain pair of demons who have control over these collars," Kurama answered. Then he started walking toward the door which led to Botan's room. "Maybe it would be best if we take Botan along."

Yusuke followed after him, inquiring about these collars and the two demons he mentioned.

Tora made to follow as well but Hiei held her back. She looked up at him quizzically. "Something to say, akudou?"

"Ryuuri's dead," he said dispassionately.

Tora blinked. "Oh…"

"Do you mind?"

She shook her head slightly. He kept his eyes fixed on hers. He knew _something _about family… After all, he had Yukina who he was very protective of. But Tora's family was different it seemed. Did she care about them?

She averted her gaze and twisted out of his grasp, proceeding to follow after the other two who'd left.

There must've been _some _affection. He wondered if she really was going to be able to handle seeing her brother die…

After a little bit of chiding from Kurama when Botan was caught about to leave her room by herself, the fox and detective explained to her the change of situation.

"You would probably be safer with us…" Kurama said, still sounding a little unsure.

Yusuke folded his arms behind his head. "It'll be alright. We're just doin' some good ol' fashioned butt kicking. Shouldn't take long, right?" he muttered to the kitsune.

Kurama noticed Hiei and Tora standing outside the doorway and then said, "We should get moving then… Hiei, you can sense where the Aura is, right?"

Hiei nodded.

"Perfect. See, this'll be easy!" Yusuke said and went out to follow Hiei and Tora.

"What's wrong?" Botan asked.

Kurama flinched, turning his eyes back to her. He shook his head.

"Something's wrong… I can tell. Please… don't lie to me," she whispered.

He looked away, frowning. "I'm just not sure… if I'll be able to keep the promise I made to you, Botan."

There was a moment of silence.

He was starting to feel an uneasiness in his stomach when…

"Nonsense!" Botan blurted brightly.

Kurama's brows wrinkled as he looked at her. She just walked on by, a grin on her face, and went out to follow the others. It must take a lot of courage to smile like that…

* * *

"Man, does anyone else think it feels kinda stuffy in here?" Yusuke grumbled. 

"I'm sure Kurama already told you the particular trait that makes Meian, Meian," Hiei said coolly.

"Ah… riiiight. Why the heck didn't Spirit World do something about these Aura imprisonment things!" he growled.

"Aura imprisonment is done in secrecy. It _is _illegal but the demons with enough guts to go against that law are typically skilled in clandestinity," Tora replied.

"Slave trade in Demon World… hm. I guess that kinda stuff goes pretty much unnoticed by the denizens here."

They came to a hall that had lots of other halls shooting up the sides at forty five degree angles like the one they had just descended. Hiei was heading for one without pause when the air stirred.

The group stopped, eyes directing to the demons that entered from various halls. Dozens of A-class demons flooded in, all attacking at the sight of them.

"I guess the word's gotten out, huh?" Yusuke commented and then plunged into battle.

Botan got on her oar and shot up into the air out of some of the demon's clutches. She had to do some air dodging as some of the persistent buggers jumped up at her. Hiei, Tora and Kurama shredded through some too.

Kurama remembered that Hiei had to reserve his energy for a fight that surely lie ahead and also that Tora had lost a lot of blood already. "Hiei!" The fire apparition glanced back at him once to show he was listening and went back to cutting down demons. "You and Tora should go ahead. We can handle these demons!" he shouted over the noise.

Hiei nodded and grabbed Tora's arm. They flitted out of the mess effortlessly without being pursued.

These demons were stopped with fair ease. The bodies lie in gory piles on the floor when Yusuke finished off the last one. He clapped his hands together and yawned.

"Henchmen… What's the point?" he said tiredly.

Abruptly the air stirred again.

"Ah man, not again."

Kurama and Yusuke got ready to fight more while Botan cautiously watched from a spot near the ceiling. For a few minutes they just stood there. Kurama and Yusuke exchanged looks.

As soon as they did, some youkai finally made their appearance. Unlike the previous idiotic brutes, these ones waltzed in nonchalantly. They were _elite _members.

Usotsuki, Shuuki, and Jareru came in from one hall.

Yusuke smiled. "All right… this one might actually be fun, eh Kurama?"

Kurama kept a steady gaze on the trio.

"Aww man! He IS fighting for them now!" Shuuki whined, pouting at the silver fox.

"I knew we couldn't trust him," Usotsuki grumbled, scratching his head vigorously for fleas apparently.

"Master wants them all dead. Her too," Jareru said coldly, looking up toward Botan for his added statement.

"Be careful, Yusuke. I'll take the panther youkai," Kurama said.

Yusuke gave the fox a flat look. "Geez, am I the only one who doesn't have a problem hitting girls and kids?"

It was only a second before the room exploded with this fight. Shuuki and Jareru sprung at Yusuke directly while Usotsuki and Kurama clashed on the other side of the room. They apparently didn't disagree with Kurama and Yusuke's "battle plan".

Mid battle, leaves and petals were swirling through the air, cutting up their opponents. The leaves were controlled by Shuuki and the petals by Kurama. Usotsuki had his arms crossed in front of his face and chest while the petals came at him relentlessly. Yusuke held one arm in front of his face while he balled his other hand into a hard fist, the leaves putting tons of paper cuts in his skin like what was happening to Usotsuki.

"AAAAHG! STOP!" Usotsuki howled, shuffling back slowly. "BANISHING BLADES!" The panther suddenly flung his arms out, allowing blades of light to twirl through the air toward the silver-haired kitsune.

Kurama quickly dodged out of the way while yelling, "Head's up, Yusuke!"

Yusuke lifted a brow, looking over his shoulder. He gave a nervous smile and ducked down low, watching as the lights twirled over his head and at the female kitsune. Her big eyes grew even bigger before the lights all hit her, a light pulsing through the room every time she was hit with one. Her body fell to the floor with a _thud _when the lights finally stopped.

"Oops…" Usotsuki muttered from behind them.

Before Kurama or Yusuke could pursue the bewildered panther, they were hit in the backs hard, sending them to their knees.

"Damn! What the hell?" Yusuke growled.

The two looked over their shoulders but didn't see anything. Of course while they did, a familiar shriek sounded through the room again.

"BANISHING BLADES!"

Instinctively, both the tantei dodged away from their positions. Yusuke got up to his feet and charged at the panther when he saw the lights aimed toward Kurama. He barely got three strides before something slammed into his spine and sent him flat on his face to the floor. He let out a muffled groan.

Kurama tried to pinpoint Jareru's location from that last assault but was interrupted by Usotsuki barreling after him with his claws raised. The fox and panther engaged in another hand-to-hand scuffle.

Yusuke raised his head off the ground, reaching a hand around his back to rub where he'd been hit. "That freakin' hurts…" he grumbled, eyes lowering to the strange frizbee like objects that must've been the thing to rudely impact him. He reached over to pick it up when he stopped, hearing a female voice cry out. Quickly he followed the voice to the air, brows rising up into his hairline when he saw it.

Botan just slammed her oar over the head of Jareru, the kid caught off guard. He fell off his perch on the wall and landed on the floor hard enough to make a cracking imprint.

About at the same time, there was another crashing sound.

After seeing that Botan had safely remounted her oar, Yusuke looked over in time to see Usotsuki peel off the cracked wall, going down with swirls for eyes unconscious.

The detective blinked. "Uh… well, that was fun!"

Kurama gave him a slightly odd look as he caught his breath. Then the kitsune looked from him to Botan. "Let's get going," he said and darted up the hall Hiei and Tora had gone through.

The kitsune went several different directions, following their companion's scents through the oddly structured maze of Meian.

"This way," Kurama said, turning into a squared empty room and running for another door with Yusuke and Botan (on her oar) following. They all had to halt again as the door they were heading for burst opened by itself.

A blur zipped across the room, moving behind them, followed by two more blurs moving on either side, creating a triangle. Once the blurs ceased movement, there was Shibui, Eizou and the pretty inu youkai.

Yusuke slumped, sighing dramatically. He watched Eizou and the inu while Kurama fixed a glare on Shibui.

The coyote was scowling. "Don't look at me like that. Unfortunately _I_ won't get to rip your face off."

"What?" Kurama queried coldly.

Shibui looked toward the door the three youkai had just come from. "Someone else wants to fight you himself… so go."

Kurama's expression shifted slightly into confusion. He took a few steps and stopped. "The girl's coming with me."

Shibui raised a brow and then looked toward Botan. "Oh. Her… Whatever."

"Let's go, Botan."

"Uh…"

"You'll be fine, right Yusuke?" the fox questioned over his shoulder.

Yusuke gave him a flat look. "Yeah, yeah. Leave it to Yusuke Urameshi to do all the grunt work. I'll be fine. Just don't you die, got that? Hand that message to Hiei when you see him too. Protect Botan and… yeah, I think that's it," he said, scratching his head.

Kurama half smiled.

Botan huffed. "I resent that, Yusuke! I'm not some kind of damsel in distress—Oh! Wait up, Kurama!" she broke off and drifted after the fox as he went through the door.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. "Okay, let's see what you've got boy and girls. Don't disappoint me by dying too soon," he said casually.

Round two for Yusuke began.

* * *

Hiei and Tora cautiously walked out of the long winding corridor, landing themselves in the largest room they'd seen in Meian. There were tall thin pillars all across one half of the room, spaced out like checkers, and then on the other half of the room, there wasn't a floor. A reddish orange glow flared on the smoothed rock walls over there as though molten lava might be at the bottom but they couldn't see it from their current position. 

Hiei got that feeling of constriction and weakness in him again, only it was much worse. He couldn't help but raise one hand up to clench his head for his Jagan was pulsing painfully. Tora gave him a worried look then she nodded to the ceiling. Hiei looked up and saw pod shaped cages dangling from the ceiling. Almost all of them harbored a person… Auras. They all appeared to be asleep.

Which one was the one they had been looking for all this time?

_Only you can point that out, Hiei_, Tora thought to him telepathically.

Hiei winced. Although he liked hearing Tora's voice, it didn't help his already pained Jagan very much. He ignored that though and focused on pinpointing the Aura that'd been bugging him for so long…

He walked in a little further, legs shaking beneath him with every step. Tora followed closely on his heels, watching him fretfully.

His attention soon lowered from the ceiling. And the two of them were looking at the corner of the room, opposite the side of the room that had no floor.

Tora felt her breath hitch. Hiei narrowed his eyes.

A tall man with long unruly talons stood there, smirking, one hand pressed on the shoulder of a much shorter girl next to him. Her hair was a long light gray, straggly from lack of wash and her eyes were like amethyst gems, only they also shimmered with silver. Her skin was unnaturally pale, her waiflike frame wrapped in filthy robes.

That was the Aura.

Hiei knew not who the _man_ was. But he didn't like the malicious grin or the fact that his gray eyes were pinned on Tora.

"Well… isn't this a lovely surprise…" the man said.

Hiei felt his insides collapsing in. The power assembled in this room was colossal.

"Tora… Tora… Tora. My pretty little bitch of a daughter. I was certain you'd died…" he remarked lightly.

Hiei bristled. He glanced at Tora, seeing an uncharacteristic fright in her features. He looked back at the man. So _this _was her father…

"Exactly what I was thinking of you…" Tora replied quietly.

"Me? Dead? Don't be foolish. I never died. Hakkou here could attest that, couldn't you my dear?" he said to the Aura.

Hiei was surprised Auras actually had names. But then, Kurama _had _told him that these demons sort of kept them like pets…

Hakkou nodded. Her eyes had never left Hiei once since they entered.

"Ah, and you… you must be this Hiei I heard about, huh?" the man said, finally acknowledging the fire apparition.

A sneer twitched on Hiei's face.

"Yes, well, my name is Kawaakari Iginaku, obviously Tora's biological father. You can see the resemblance, hm?" he said with a grin. He then directed his eyes toward the floorless half of the room.

Hiei and Tora looked over just as someone jumped up from the hole, landing on the floor. Another demon of course. He looked a lot like… he looked almost _exactly _like Kawaakari.

The demon looked around and then smiled, strutting along toward Kawaakari and Hakkou. "Hey, sis," he said to Tora.

Tora didn't return the sentiment, merely frowning at him.

The older brother hung a turn, to Kawaakari and Hakkou's left for a black double door and threw them open. He leaned in on one of the doors, pushing the other one with his foot to keep them open. Then his gray eyes redirected on Tora and Hiei.

"And that would be my son, Zokushi," Kawaakari said to Hiei. His attention was again lost from them as he looked over Tora's shoulder to the door they'd entered from.

Kurama with Botan following entered.

"Ah… Here's what I've been waiting for," Zokushi said, smiling deviously at the fox and spirit girl. "I suggest we take this outside, Youko."

Kurama knit his brows together and wordlessly pressed on to cross the room. Botan was about to follow, but he said, "Stay here."

She blinked, stepping back again. What was he going to do? Oh… the collar… But why did it seem like he had been acquainted with that wolf demon before? She wordlessly backed into the doorway. If there was anything she could do… She had to keep her eyes open for an opportunity.

Kawaakari's low laugh resonated like a hum throughout the room. He leaned down to whisper something in the Aura's ear, his malicious eyes on the fire apparition.

It took a second before Tora realized what was about to happen but when she did, she snapped her eyes to Hiei and almost immediately had to back away.

His eyes had turned purple and he lunged at Tora with his clawed hands. This time, Tora could sense an insurmountable amount of power exuding from him. It had to be because he was so near the Aura. However closer he was to her, his overall power increased. And now… snapping him out of this possession might be impossible to do…

Tora suddenly felt her rope to the living hanging by a mere thread. She was already incredibly weakened from the massive blood loss… and Hiei gained a power boost from the Aura…

Things were looking bleak.

* * *

AN: Woah! Ran up the word count… Heheh, sorry! This note'll be short… 

Thank you for reading and please review! Darn it, if I could give you guys cookies, I would… (sighs as she tries to push cookies into the computer)

Hiei: Maybe they don't even _like _cookies.

Wolf: (snorts) And maybe _you _just wanna keep them all to yourself!

Hiei: (glares and zips out the window)

Wolf: Grr… Hey… Where'd my cookies go!


	19. Sacrifices

Chapter 19 – Sacrifices  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

Hiei was tearing after Tora through the pillars. The fureasei got herself to the edge, looking over her shoulder to see small flecks of the floor break off and fall to the natural mountainous interior below. When she returned her attention to Hiei, she barely seen him as he slammed into her body, sending them both off the edge.

The fall was quick. Thankfully they landed on a strip of rocky land below, of which there were more similar such patches dotting the mass of glowing lava.

Tora cursed under her breath. Yes, that fall was short, but the impact hurt her already worn down body. She felt she knew what it was like being in a weak ningen's body now. What a trip.

Her musing was cut short when she felt the blaring energy coming at her. She leapt away just in time to avoid the vicious claw that was so imbued with strength, though his fist didn't make contact with the ground, shatters of the hot earth spewed twenty feet into the air.

Hiei hardly held up. He came at her again, and again, again.

And with every blow, every miss, Tora's energy was wearing thin. She didn't how long she could last, and found herself praying that fox or even that blue-haired grim reaper could figure something out.

Before it was too late.

* * *

Brutality had never sounded more frightening than the echoes of Hiei's growls accompanied by rattles of the entire chamber.

Here, this close to such a major power source in fleshy form, Botan felt something of what burden plagued the demons in Meian. She felt like she could hardly breathe, like she'd climbed a freezing, escalating mountain for days, even though this place was sweltering and she was merely standing still.

She stayed tucked away in a corner, shielded by huge chunks of the rock wall that crashed down much earlier. It irked her how she was the only one not doing anything. Yusuke was holding off not one but _three _of these powerful S-class demons, Youko had gone to face the toughest of the Ten of Makai alone, and Tora, weakened, was battling her possessed mate. Botan commiserated most with Tora, for it hurt to even imagine facing Kurama from opposing sides…

Ahg, she had to do something! She had to help her friends!

Whisked up in the shot of adrenaline, Botan leapt from her hiding place. She summoned out her oar and charged toward Kawaakari and Hakkou, who both seemed distracted by the fight going on below.

Hakkou remained fixated on Hiei.

But Kawaakari…

A last minute thought ran through Botan's mind: _If I could jar Hakkou or even incapacitate her… maybe Hiei will snap out of it! _

She let out a rough cry as she throw forth her oar with all of her strength, channeling some of her power into it as well. What was produced was an oar giving off the ominous dark glow of the Grim Reaper. Kawaakari threw a heavy kick toward her.

But not before Botan could finish her attack.

As Kawaakari moved toward the spirit girl, he absorbed the most of Botan's blow. Still Hakkou gasped and shrunk down as her face and shoulder was hit.

Kawaakari's kick sent Botan flying across the room and into the opposite wall. It felt like all of her insides had crashed into each other. Blood flowed down one of her nostrils, and out of a corner of her mouth. She struggled to pick herself up but saw across the room Kawaakari hurriedly refocusing Hakkou's attention on Hiei.

Botan shuddered. The breath had been knocked out of her. Then she noticed the tip of her oar.

Hakkou was Hiei's puppet master. But even Hakkou was not in full control of her own actions as Kawaakari stood beside her, feeding her instructions. _She _was _his _puppet. Hakkou was dependent, she was subdued, she was…

_She's already dead… _Botan's eyes widened as she realized it. The Aura… her spirit was barely there and her body… there was no life in it at all. She reached a quivering hand out to scoop up a sample of blood that had spilled from the Aura. It was coagulated.

"What does this mean?" she choked out, coughing on blood.

She had to rest her head down again as the room began to spin. Her body had been drastically weakened in a heartbeat. Thus, the Aura's influence upon everything further weighed down upon her. Tears welled in her eyes as she slowly closed them.

_Kurama… please… hurry back… _

* * *

"The great Youko Kurama… Have you enjoyed your cozy life in the Ningenkai? You reek of that human filth," Zokushi growled, lunging at Youko with his claws again.

Zokushi was fast, faster than Youko himself. The fox was marked with cuts bleeding into his tattered white clothes while the wolf had only sustained a few wounds, which went ignored by him obviously.

"You left us, Youko. _Betrayed _us. What would prompt such a foolish action when riches and power beyond your imagining were the promise of our alliance?"

"Not everything can be achieved through your vicious means. And have you not realized that your ideals are not your own but your father's?"

Zokushi slashed at him.

"Everything about the Ten of Makai is to serve Kawaakari's purposes. He's used you, your sisters, plenty of demons who are in ashes now, and by the time it's all through, not even you, his son, will have an identity. I wasn't about to allow myself to be taken over like a mutt."

That seemed to upset Zokushi a whole lot. The wolf let out a vicious howl and barreled toward Youko head on. Youko instinctively tried to dodge but for some reason his body was not cooperating. He realized then that Zokushi's specialty had something to do with sound and vibrations. Somehow from that howl, Youko had been rendered immobile. Which meant he could not avoid in the least the brunt of one brutal attack to his vulnerable body.

Zokushi's arm went ablaze with a spiraling dark glow. His fingers arched into a deadly claw.

And he came down on Youko with full force.

* * *

With Kawaakari distracted, Botan slipped over toward the Aura again. She felt more and more encumbered as she neared the girl, her legs becoming heavy as solid blocks. Her lungs became constricted only a yard away and she had to stop, trying to breathe. In the pause, she panicked as she heard Kawaakari yelling. She looked off and saw him coming back.

Gathering what strength left in her, she used it in burst of adrenaline to lunge at the Aura, managing to snag her arm. She willed the soul in Hakkou to depart. As she did so, she seemed to fall into a bright void, an emptied dimension of white with silvery shimmers all around her.

Where'd everyone go?

_"I cannot leave," _a voice echoed from everywhere.

Botan's brow creased into a frown. She looked down to see she was floating, no ground beneath her in sight. She could find no other person. "Where are you?" she called back to the voice.

_"You're inside my soul… the infinite void of endless power. It's cold isn't it?" _

"I can send you to an eternal rest, Hakkou! You don't have to live life as some kind of prisoner!"

_"I will not live that way long. As soon as my father intercepts all this power I've gathered for him, I will then be free… and my father will be pleased." _

"Father…? Who's your father?" Botan asked confusedly. From what the Aura just said it sounded as though she thought Kawaakari…

_"Kawaakari is my father." _

_What? _Botan looked skyward. "What do you mean? Kawaakari isn't—"

_"He is not my blood father. I know. But he is the closest thing to family I've had. The Oora race is typically deprived of their families at birth… because Spirit and Demon relationships are prohibited." _

They… are? Botan hadn't known this… But that was beside the point.

"He's not a good father, Hakkou! He's only using you! And he's even used his own blood children too! Don't you see how much Tora suffers thanks to him?"

_"She was ungrateful… Zokushi and Ryuuri loved their father…" _

"Did they _really_? Did you actually hear them say that?"

_"…"_

Botan scrunched up a bit more. It really was cold in here… and very lonely. Was this how the Aura had felt her entire life? Of course… Who wouldn't when they had to remain chained up in a dungeon for the sole purpose of gathering power which wouldn't even be used by them? Living locked down their entire life… just to die when the power was sucked dry from them… It was horrible.

"Zokushi and Ryuuri never knew what love was, Hakkou… and neither does Kawaakari. When you love someone, you would never hurt them. Kawaakari has hurt you and his children without remorse. He doesn't care what happens to any of you as long as you serve out your purposes he has forced upon you."

Images started to pass through the void before Botan's eyes. It was what Hakkou was seeing… in the real world… or rather, she was seeing through _Hiei's _eyes. And the fire apparition was closing in on Tora, who looked worn and bloodied. He was backing her against the wall. Botan went rigid at the sight.

"Hakkou! Make him stop!"

_"…Fa… Father wants Tora out of the way… She is beyond redeemable in his eyes. She wishes to kill us all…" _

"No! No, that's not true! STOP!"

_"She is… evil. With her out of the way… my soul will be able to leave this dead body of mine… and Kawaakari can take it before it reaches Hiei." _

"And then what! How can you want something like that? If he succeeds in taking your soul and power, what comes after is only desolation and despair!"

_"But _he _will be happy… I've lived this long only to supply him with happiness, for only in his happiness will I find happiness for myself." _

_"HAPPINESS IS NOT TO BE ACHIEVED THROUGH MURDER." _

That voice cleaved the realm in two, tearing Botan from the Aura's hold.

The next thing Botan knew, she'd fallen to her back, feeling utterly shaken by that event. She managed to pic herself up enough to see what had happened.

Her breath hitched as she saw Hakkou impaled through her frail chest, the culprit being…

"Rinka," Botan breathed weakly.

She didn't know what to feel or how to respond to the smile on the Seer's face as she looked at Botan.

"And all was right with the world," Rinka stated, her voice shaking, tears rolling down her cheeks. Rinka's body was ripped apart as something came rushing out of the Aura's body.

Botan couldn't begin to understand. The only thing she knew was that something big was happening. Then a scream blustered through the room and tore it apart gradually. She heard Kawaakari howling in rage and pain, shock and misery. Colors poured out from the Aura's wound and swirled into the room, looking for something.

Looking for Hiei.

_"I don't want to be alone," _Hakkou's childlike voice said beneath the noise. Then with one blustering cry:

_"I won't die alone!!!" _

* * *

AN: -cries- I've had these final chapters in my files forever, gathering dust… incomplete… so alone! –sniffles- Sorry, Hiei…

Hiei: -shining his katana-

Niveus (formerly the 'Wolf'): Eh, I'll be uploading the last chapters soon enough. I just had to post this because I have claustrophobic issues with the computer. I… uh, don't know the proper phobia to address it by. Heheh… so many files. I really need to learn to finish things… -sweatdrop-

Hiei: -rolls eyes-

Niveus: Also, the next chapters are longer. This one was uncharacteristically short… I might extend a scene or two some time. But for now I think it serves its purpose! …hopefully…


	20. In Memory

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Yu Yu Hakusho characters. I only have some rights over my OC character and the story itself!_

Chapter 20 – In Memory  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

Hiei couldn't stop himself from crying. Something terrible had been unleashed within himself. It was like something was trying to break free from him, like an animal locked away in an airless box. If this agony didn't break him from the inside, he was liable to tear himself in two from the outside.

_"I WON'T DIE ALONE!!!" _she screamed into his ears again.

It hurt to open his eyes even a little. Through the blur of forced tears, he could just make out the ghostly form suddenly swirling around him and placing upon him _more _pressure than what already weighed on him.

Just as he thought he would be crushed, two shaking hands pushed at his chest. He could feel the force behind them, pressing, trying to get him out of this phantom fist's grasp.

Tora… it was Tora. It could be no one else but her.

She let out a fierce cry as she went all out.

Hiei tumbled from the vice grip, somehow not falling into the molten lava spattered across the grounds. Abruptly the pain in his body let up, and he felt… he felt like he'd finally been liberated from the punishment that seemed to had been there for ages but in fact was only a week…

The feeling was short-lived as Hiei realized what was becoming of Tora, who'd taken his place in that vice grip!

"No!" he growled hoarsely and lunged out to grab her arm.

Her wild gaze found his. Pain she bravely and barely withheld marked her skin that sweated from exertion. Hiei tugged with all his might, the reservoirs of desperation rapidly running empty.

"It's useless," Tora ground out. Half of her body was entirely consumed in the strange mist. Looking into that mist, there seemed to be another world within, but it was bleak and empty. And it seemed to call for her.

No...

Hiei would not let her go!

"Just shut up and hold on!" he demanded.

"Please… Back the hell off! You'll lose your arms or more if you don't!"

"Shut up!"

Tora's lips quivered, the mask of strength melting away. "Don't do this. I made my decision... I chose you! I want you to live! If you care, let me go!"

"Even I know that's no way to prove one's affection." Her arm slipped some. His heart raced more. She couldn't leave him now. Not ever!

A heartrending quiet fell on them. It seemed like there could be no time for such but it occurred right there between them. Between life and death. Their gazes went deep into each other's eyes, pleading with each other wordlessly.

Then it was Tora who finally said in inevitability:

"Do the honor of remembering me… and I'll do you the honor of surrendering," she told him softly, her hand slipping out of Hiei's closed grasp.

"Dammit, Tora…" he said weakly.

_Don't forget… _

Hiei's eyes went wide as gemlike tears strayed from her beautiful face, the warmth of her skin fading away while he frantically swatted the air for her touch again. All in vain.

The mist vanished in a blink.

And Tora along with it.

* * *

Kawaakari fled from the destruction of Meian to a plateau that stood atop it. He stopped at the edge that looked over a desolate landscape, hissing for breath, his grey eyes like lead as they were consumed by fury.

All of that power… held in his hand… gone in one fell swoop.

That _bitch_, Rinka. If there was a way to revive the dead, he'd do so for her just to torture and destroy her himself.

His attention was snapped toward the blue-haired girl slumped against the cavern wall he'd just popped out of.

"How could you do that to her?" Botan whimpered, so distraught and emotionally drained. Regardless, or perhaps because of this, she'd found the energy to pursue the heartless youkai who'd done such terrible things. Was there any place in hell suitable for this terror?

She let out half a sob before catching herself, standing up suddenly as she threw her fists down and cried, "She was… She was willing to do anything for you! She loved you! She—"

"_Please_! Save me your whining, fairy. From where I stand, they were all just a waste of space, just as worthless as humans. All that I've worked for, everything I put in to giving their lives a shred of meaning… my efforts blown because of that _wretch_! Next time… I'll be sure my hounds never think to go astray even if that means torture to the point of death!"

"Not if I can help it…" Botan murmured and ran for the youkai.

She didn't care if she died, as long as she destroyed him in the process. If they both were vanquished entirely from all existence she didn't care! She wouldn't give him the chance to do the things he'd done again!

A grin most malicious cracked across Kawaakari's face when he saw her coming for him. He slowly turned to face her, no worries whatsoever in his movements. A blazing glow ignited around his fists and shined in his eyes.

Botan hardly realized tears were spilling down her cheeks, couldn't acknowledge the burning agony resonating with every footfall. She screamed in rage when she was near him, as his fist was thrown.

"_NO_!" a voice shouted. And then:

"SPIRIT GUN!"

The sky went aglow as the large beam of light went plowing through the air like a bullet train. Kawaakari's jaw dropped, his eyes turning to dots. But then they changed, went dark and glassy. A smile quirked his lips.

The light slammed through him, sweeping him off the plateau and disappearing into thin air. Just like that...

Vanquished.

The meaning of his grin was then realized. Botan looked toward the detective and her stomach dropped. There was Yusuke. And then there was a lifeless body hurling toward him from above. Before she could warn him, the body bowled Yusuke over with a savage, frightening force.

Botan gasped. Time seemed to slow as she looked further up the mountain, and there was Zokushi. Worse yet, she could sense an imposing shift in power exuding from his shady form.

The sky was dark behind him. From the way it rumbled and the way he stood on the ledge high above her, she might think he was the deity of storms. His eyes… they glowed ominously in the shadow of the mountain and she realized…

"I wouldn't be struck down as easily as any other demon. No, I took the liberty of ensuring my return through my son. And what's more… my power is now coupled with his," the youkai said.

Botan didn't doubt a word. This monster _would _sacrifice anything and anyone. She knew that now. Not even his obedient son matter to him.

She lowered her eyes to Yusuke and… and the body… the body… it was…

"No…" she choked. Her body started shaking as she threw herself down by them. Carefully she pulled Kurama's slack body from the unconscious Spirit Detective and cradled him on her lap. "No…"

"Pft. Why do you weep, fairy? Do you honestly think your high and mighty society in the clouds would have approved of your romance with a born youkai? Aside from that, he was far more superior to you anyway," Kawaakari coldly said.

Botan curled over the silver-haired youkai and sobbed.

Above Kawaakari, in Zokushi's more agile body, hopped onto the slope and surfed the smooth surface toward the despondent group. He'd never felt so anxious before, so eager to get to them and finish this nonsense.

First thing he'd do is snap the neck of that annoying, pitiful, miserly, mongrel of a---

"AAAAHG!!!" Kawaakari shrieked as his head was suddenly hitting the ground far off to the other side of the mountain top. His vision temporarily blurred and when it refocused he found he was upon a platform lower than the one he'd aimed for.

He lifted his head and his body gave an involuntary shiver. The blood that rolled down his cheek felt entirely foreign to him. In all his life he'd suffered only two great wounds to his person and both times had been long, long ago.

A curse hissed through his teeth. Quickly he got to his feet and looked upward to locate the source. Before he could even think about it another attack was already coming his way.

Just barely he managed to move a little to the left and avoided a severe hit. Still, as he tumbled away from the contact he felt a twinge of pain in his chest. He rolled up to his feet again and braced himself for another bludgeoning.

Yes, it was a mere bare fist that was reigning down upon him. The fist of that pint-sized half breed...

"Jaganshi..." he uttered lowly. Oh how he despised that race, particularly thanks to Tora. Ironically she'd received that gene from him which he'd been handed by his full-blooded jaganshi father. He hated them so very much...

Hiei growled fiercely as he made another mad dash for the demon he'd deemed the human's devil. He would avenge Tora if it broke every last bone in his body, if it shredded apart his spirit, if it annihilated his entire being. The only thing he wanted now was to destroy this lowlife.

His fist, only barely wrapped in a dark essence, struck spot on and the satisfying sound of a _crack_ met his ears.

Kawaakari grunted as his body skimmed the edge of the platform and broke off a piece of the mountain. He disappeared over the edge, followed by another _thud _from him hitting yet another ledge further down.

Hiei did not hesitate to continue the descent. It didn't matter how long it took. He would succeed in his final endeavor.

When he took the dive over the edge, his stomach turned.

_"Together..."_

For a moment he was lost, disoriented. Unfortunately Kawaakari had just stabled himself and saw the startled look on Hiei's face. He seized his opportunity, quickly leaping up to meet Hiei midair and slam his elbow into his torso.

Drops of blood spewed from Hiei's mouth. His body went flying far back to hit an awkward angle of the mountain. It broke his fall and crumbled down along with him to the next nearest ledge. Not quite jarred by the blow he burst up through the rubble and reacquired his target's position.

Kawaakari hadn't come down yet. He'd lingered with a wary eye on the jaganshi, surely not clear on why Hiei had suddenly been open for an attack. When Hiei's gaze locked on the older demon his hesitance deteriorated and he took a stance. Within a blink's time dark crackling energy spread through his left arm and he punched it out toward Hiei.

Quickly Hiei leapt aside. Where he'd just stood the noisy lightning bolt exploded quite literally. Shrapnel that glistened blindingly as the sunrays hit it where Hiei had fled to struck his body.

He freefell for ten seconds before managing to catch a particularly out-pointed part in the mountainside. Blood was streaming down his torso from two notable gashes. He grimaced as he braced his arms on the rock and hoisted himself far into the air enough to reach a flat area once more. When his feet hit solid earth, he stumbled. It crossed his mind that Kawaakari could have initiated a severe follow up attack.

But he looked around and the bastard was not to be seen. That was until a light suddenly emanated from the dark side of the mountain, followed by another as though...

Someone else was fighting him.

Hiei gritted his teeth and hurried to find his way back over there. To his chagrin, pain rippled through him every time he landed from a leap. He had to finish this... he just had to.

_"Together... we will..."_

He staggered when he landed but not from the pain. That voice... That horrible voice! It couldn't be--

_"You must avenge my centuries of suffering, Hiei... His existence... only makes mine worthless... Hiei, we must rid the world of him... together..." _

"Shut up! It is all because of you Tora has died! I will do nothing for you. Kawaakari will die for Tora's sake. Not yours!" he yelled, his eyes wide and far off. He didn't want anything to do with Hakkou anymore. How could she still linger? How is it she could be spared the grave yet Tora was...

"What have you done to her? If you are yet tied to me then she must not be gone either... WHERE IS SHE!?"

The sounds of the battle carrying on without him had only his body's attention in little twitches and sweat beads whenever the combatants made contact. They were near enough he could hear every strike but he could not go without knowing.

"Where. Is. She," he repeated slowly.

There was still no answer. As though Hakkou had not in fact ever spoken to him in the first place.

He wanted to shout so many things. He wanted answers. He wanted Tora back...

But this was futile. Deep down he knew that.

With a cutting, dejected feeling, he moved on toward the battle.

* * *

"Asshole! Just lay down and die!" Yusuke screamed.

The detective had regained consciousness under pressure by the rattling energy that came with Hiei's onslaught. Strangely when it had abruptly ceased, that's when Yusuke's eyes had opened. The first thing he'd seen was a very bloodied and limp Kurama mourned by a despairing Botan.

It was enough to light a fire under the Ma-Zoku. His demon form had awoken against his will but he didn't care. This bastard Kawaakari had to pay. Although Yusuke had talked big he hadn't actually delivered a fatal blow to any of these demons yet. That was about to change.

He'd already nearly severed one of Kawaakari's legs completely off. Yusuke wanted so much more than ever to tear this guy apart limb by limb. His demon side was keen on this notion, but regardless Kawaakari was undeniably a force to be reckoned with.

Kawaakari dodged the Ma-Zoku's palm that left a large imprint in the mountain. A trace of a smile teased his lips. Blind rage was not much of a winning tactic. Kawaakari in fact believed it was rarely successful, thus he tried at all times to be calm. It had rewarded him abundantly in his life time and now allowed him the great pleasure of wounding the mighty Ma-Zoku.

He had studied Yusuke from afar in battle, and had even made a point to know of his feats outside the tournaments through the accounts of as many others as he could gather. There was no doubt in his mind he would emerge from this victorious, minus perhaps a few meager losses, maybe a leg or foot but he could overcome those...

"Out of my way!"

Kawaakari's musing was cut short as the fire apparition made his return.

Sometime throughout the course of the battle, they'd ended up near the peak of the mountain again. Kawaakari knew this would be it... but he wasn't afraid. Though his opponents were two powerful, albeit legendary, demons, they were beaten and battered ones. They had been worn down and now both fought through visors of pure red like dogs. Where as he himself was so much older and seasoned, not quite as beaten down, and definitely not without a peace of mind.

Sadly for Kawaakari though, it would be then his odds would see yet another last change...

"I will not be counted out. Part of his death is to be mine as well," said the fox youkai, Kurama.

Kawaakari's heart rate increased just a little. Eerily just the sight of Kurama's full demon form struck a cord in Kawaakari. On one hand Kurama had already took a good lashing, but on the other he was the oldest and arguably wisest of the three. He would aid them just enough to possibly bring Kawaakari down.

It made him tremble.

"Die now," Hiei growled under his breath.

The dragon tattoo on his arm was exposed and slowly writhed to life as he readied for one finishing blow. His head reeled though as he felt the flare of power emanate at his side. Both Yusuke and Kurama also prepared their most crushing attacks.

"Wait" he wanted to shout. But didn't have the time to.

Kurama's death plant rushed in and snagged Kawaakari's legs. One of which sheared off instantly and made the demon give one awful, agonizing cry. Saliva hit the demon in spots and burned holes deep into his skin. While he was utterly immobilized that's when Yusuke struck.

In on fell swoop, a bright and divine light tore through the atmosphere...

....and destroyed the demon, Kawaakari, for the last time.

The dragon had left Hiei only a second too late to be the killing blow. While to any normal pair of eyes it looked like both attacks hit at the same time, Hiei's three eyes saw the truth.

He shook with anger.

The other tantei were left breathing laboriously.

Yusuke wiped the sweat off his brow and said, "Phew… That was a tough one." He started to smile but quickly balked as Hiei stalked over and slashed at him with his katana. Yusuke dodged back again and again as he tried to hit him. "Hey! What the hell are you doing!?"

"Hiei!" Kurama shouted and jumped over to try to restrain the demon.

"That kill was MINE, baka!" Hiei snarled, trying to kick off the redhead.

Yusuke's brows crinkled. "I'm… sorry," he said.

Kurama let go of the fire apparition, frowning like the detective. Hiei shot one more glare at Yusuke and then stalked over to the edge of the plateau, body heaving angrily as he gazed off blankly in the distance. Abruptly he stepped off the edge, landing on the staircase below, and then going back into Meian.

Yusuke was about to follow but Kurama said, "Leave him alone for a while. He'll be… alright… if given time."

With a heavy heart, the detective quietly said, "He really cared about her…"

Kurama sighed. "I think he did."

They both looked at the ground in solemn. Their expressions changed as everything went dark. Looking up, there was a black orb in the sky… what was assumed to be the sun. But no sooner had that been answered when it became a blinding white again.

They exchanged looks. Slowly their forms receded back into human skins. Yusuke heaved a deep breath and plopped down on the spot, reluctantly taking in what had happened.

Kurama's hair red again, he braced the most severe wound on his left shoulder and limped slightly over to Botan. She sat on the ground, her face hidden against her legs as she held them close. He watched her for a minute, acknowledging how grateful he was that she was alive and that he was able to awaken for her.

Quietly he knelt down and laid a hand on her arm. "Botan... it's done. Kawaakari is no more," he whispered.

Botan sniffled, hesitant to look at him. But when she did, she had never been gladder in her life to see a smiling face. Especially it being his, the one she loved.

* * *

Kurama and Botan sat on the guard wall of the fortress' roof where Kurama had made his last poor decision -- he hoped. The blue haired girl rested her head on her knight's shoulder, idle thoughts drifting in her tired mind.

Yes, they were still in Makai but the view from here was beautiful. The sun was setting, a flare pouring a warm orange color onto the horizon. The land here was no longer rank with sinister plots with the Ten of Makai disbanded and the Ooras free; they were being ushered to Reikei where they'd see proper care and hopefully be placed in a safe haven.

"Why did you want to come here, Kurama?" Botan asked absently.

A half smile rose on the redhead's lips. "This is the last time I want to be in Makai. I hope to stay in Human World for the rest of my life as Shuuichi," he answered casually.

Botan looked up at him, blinking. That's right… This redhead would age with time and then eventually… She averted her eyes, suddenly feeling sad but she didn't want to think on this right now, not after everything they'd just been through. She had to deal with one problem at a time…

"I was wondering…" she murmured, keeping her voice neutral she hoped. Kurama turned his head to her slightly. "…Why did you ever leave the Ten of Makai back when you were Youko? Power and riches beyond imagination was the promise of their future. Wasn't that akin to your ambitions back then…?"

"Yes. But Youko didn't want to live by their rules. The Ten of Makai were strict, their leader was a dictator... Even though I as Youko had not known him personally, I surmised what sort of demon he was by the rules enforced amongst his followers. If Youko had gone through with the initiation completely, there would have been no turning back ever. Tora realized this too late. But because she shared the blood of the leader it wasn't until Meian that..."

"She… died. Rinka too. Both of them were kind of in the gray area but I still think of them as friends… I guess that's what Rinka's prediction was…" she murmured. Kurama looked at her questioningly. "'An intervention by an old friend… A loss of two friends… You will wander astray but you will be saved… It comes to pass before the sun flashes black.' That was what she told me, and…"

The more she thought on it the more she could hardly bare it. Her eyes welled up and she shook her head as though she wished denial would make it untrue. It cut her as deep as any physical wound. "...I didn't do anything to change it!" she cried, latching onto Kurama's shirt and gazing into his eyes desperately, searching for an answer.

Kurama's brow furrowed, his eyes downcast sadly. He took a deep breath. "Those of us with conscious thought, mortal and demon alike… we're bound to certain rules, and we can only try to live the best way we can. I would think neither Rinka nor Tora would regret their decisions. Because in the end, after all they'd gone through in their lives, I'm sure they found atonement and peace by dying for the sake of another. I believe it's the greatest choice anyone can make…" he said quietly.

Botan, startled by that thought, grabbed him by his face and looked him in the eyes with the utmost graveness. "Please, don't ever say that again, Kurama."

He looked at her in vague awe.

"I mean it. True, it was incredibly, _incredibly _noble of them to have sacrificed their own lives for the sake of others but... it's just... it should never have to come to that! I'd like to believe there is always another way... if everyone works together... I should have been able to be there... and it could've made all the difference in the world," she said sadly.

Kurama looked at her for a long moment. He smiled and shook his head. "Botan..." Patiently he waited for her watery gaze to find him. When it did he reached up and caressed her cheek. "I know in my heart, you are the first person who would do every and anything in her power to make things right. That is your power. It is one of the greatest anyone can have."

She closed her eyes, a frail smile on her face. To reassure her that he absolutely believed in what he said, he moved in and gave her a long kiss. He held her to him closely, healed just by her nearness. There could be no other mate for him.

When they parted her eyes were still closed and her soft lips still parted slightly. He smiled and waited for her to be alert again before saying anymore.

"We cannot change the past, Botan. All that we can do now is work toward a future worth having and make sure that we never forget what happened here. In this way Tora and Rinka are not gone. We will remember them," he said resolutely.

Botan knew that it was the best they could do. She couldn't allow herself to dwell in despair. Tora undoubtedly would be pissed off at her if she ever heard of such.

Believe you me, no one wanted to be on the wrong end of that fureasei's wrath.

* * *

Hiei stood on the hill just below the towers, looking over his shoulder at the mountain split between dark and light. He wished he could stay but was vaguely certain there would be no sense in that. No part of him was going to let go of her very soon and even denied to curl up in the warmth of memories because that might mean she was not going to return to him. Was there any possibility he could hold her again? He just wanted to leave the question open as long as he could.

For a while he would bask in the defeat of Makai's latest super villain to keep himself going. He helped set free a race that dwindled on the brink of extinction and shut down a poisoned society. Maybe Koenma would have a few loose-end assignments to tie up...

Anything to keep his mind off Tora.

He closed his eyes for a moment and listened and felt the wind. It was chilly but in some way also comforting. When he opened his eyes and slowly walked on he heard a faint whisper:

_"Thank you."_

* * *

AN: What's this?? An update after what? Almost three years? Wow... strangely I was able to get this out pretty quickly. It was fun. Didn't realize how much I missed the Yu Yu gang. Makes me wish I had the DVD collection haha.

Well, yes indeed I have been on hiatus for a very long time so please forgive any inaccuracies that may be present regarding Yu Yu world canon and er... my very own "canon" in previous chapters ha ha... ha? I read the whole thing again but I still think I _may _have left some stuff out...

Oh! But this is NOT the very last chapter so if something turns up it'll probably have a part in the final chapter. Hopefully.

And who knows, I may most likely end up changing up this chapter quite a bit... _Maybe_. -shrugs-

Niveus: Oh my god I'm talking with Hiei again!

Hiei: No. No, you're not. I'm not here, okay.

Niveus: -clucks tongue- Nuh uh. In my mind you are!

Hiei: -flat look-


	21. What is Lost

Epilogue – What is Lost...  
Written by: Amber M

* * *

Lament had no end for the jaganshi apparently. Hiei was walking about a forest of Makai—he didn't know which one and didn't care, just as long as it was quiet. It was a week later and he had done his best to return to the old life he had obtained before that Aura came to haunt his sleep and before that infuriating fureasei led him onto a crazy roller coaster of a journey.

Tora… He had to stop thinking of her. She was gone. That's all there was to it. No need to linger on her... not in this way.

"...the honor of remembering..." he murmured softly. He had tried so hard to comprehend her last words. The honor of remembering in exchange for the honor of surrendering... In all his years no words had been more cryptic. He only knew it was NOT correct to associate misery with her, bottom line. But how could he honor her last request to the fullest when it hurt so much to think of what was and could have been...

Silently he went on wandering until nightfall. By then his feet set their own course and brought him to seek the counsel of one of the very few people who'd ever heard any of his most intimate thoughts.

"Hiei? What a surprise, pleasant of course. I thought we might never meet eye to eye again," the ex demon lord, Mukuro said. Her voice was light and carefree.

Hiei smiled just a little. "Really," he replied with mild sarcasm.

She gave him a closed-eyes smile.

They relocated to the outside balcony of the three-story retreat home. It was one of those places traveling demons simply used for free bed rest and it saw little foot traffic really. Mukuro was the most frequent visitor due to convenience. She also seemed to have a thing for the down-to-earth yet still aristocratic, human-esque architecture of it. Really what demon with numerous years under their belt wouldn't?

For the first part of their reunion Hiei retold his tale from his point-of-view, and from the looks and little quips Mukuro provided throughout he guessed his story had already begun to circulate the gossip pool of Makai. "Gossip" may not have been the best word but Hiei was in no mood to find another for now.

By the time he'd finished telling of Meian, his face had a tinge of puzzlement on it. Patiently Mukuro waited to give him her wisdom.

Hiei was hesitant as he related one of his not so Tora-centric thoughts, "When the Oora, Hakkou, was intercepted by Botan she seemed to implode. It was as though her body was a harbor for a portal to whatever dimension that was she tried to suck me into along with herself." He paused, thinking. "While all of what happened isn't very clear to me, what I don't understand is how Hakkou could've gotten into my head again even after it seemed she'd met her demise..."

Mukuro put her hand on her head, eyes closed in deep thought. After a moment she replied, "The Ooras... they were indeed a most peculiar and mysterious people-- although they were never treated as such before now. Hakkou was an exceptionally powerful Oora, due to meticulous guidance as you have told me... Although I did not know much of them myself, I had learned that a most powerful Oora evolves into a new creature, one which is meant to be a guardian."

"For... that other world...?"

She nodded. "A place anyone knows extremely little of, even a youkai of my years. Hakkou probably evolved only recently, at the exact time you began to hear her. Her voice reached you in the Nigenkai all the way from Makai, two very different worlds. For a such a power to be snuffed out in an instant would be surprising. I think what you heard after her death was what may tentatively be labeled as an 'echo', the last of her efforts to relay her dying wish to you."

Hiei looked up toward the sky. "For certain she is dead though," he said, a question guised as answer.

Mukuro understood. She looked at him and smiled just a little.

After that they went into talk about the business of returning lost Ningens to their own world. And then the conversation just went from here to there, a mind-stream of unimportant things. Until...

"Favored and Fallen," Mukuro said out of the blue.

It was by then signs of dawn had just begun to show amidst the bushy forest they overlooked. But frankly, Hiei had expected Mukuro would come out with the answers he truly sought at one point or another. Still... he was a bit on edge for what might be said.

"What is that? An ancient saying made to be what the senile old man who made it _wants _it to be?" he replied wryly.

Mukuro raised a brow. She grunted in mock-irritation. "No. It's the... 'unofficial' title of a story -- if you will."

"Never heard of it."

"You never heard the story?" she said, astonished. Or not. Sometimes Hiei couldn't tell with this orange-haired demoness.

She proceeded to tell the story. "Well. Many, many years ago, before I was even born, there were two angels, one who was favored and the other who had fallen from grace. Against the law of the heavens they fell deeply in love. The Favored could not be happy without the Fallen and the Fallen could not live without the Favored. So when the gods forbade the Favored from this blasphemous love the Fallen begged mercy, only to have the wings torn from her back."

"_Her?_"

"Problem?"

Hiei grunted. "Not at all. It's just that usually the male is the outcast and the female the one dressed in white."

"Females can be cast out from society just as well as any male," Mukuro disagreed dryly. A glint flickered through her blue eye at that moment.

Hiei kept his grumble inward.

"Anyway," Mukuro said, "The Favored angel was angered and hurt by what the gods had done to his love and he dove after her as she fell toward the abyss. Even as a thundering voice bellowed after him that should he touch the Fallen they both would be lost the Favored kept going. And when he caught her, they looked into each other's eyes and whispered not good-byes but words that would be forever, that would make _them _forever. They shared a kiss of true love as eerie swirls of dark and light engulfed them."

The fire apparition shifted a little uncomfortably.

Mukuro gazed out onto the horizon, face wiped of any emotion. "The Favored and Fallen were the first patrons of Oblivion. And they were also the creators of it for --although in disparagement -- the gods did call them 'nothing'. In the gods' anger, they banished the lovers to this place.

"...However... if it was truly 'nothing' as the gods said, it wouldn't have a name. It was called 'Oblivion', the Favored and Fallen's place where peace and memory coexist eternally… until the day they are found again."

Hiei looked at Mukuro with question and saw a gentle smile on her face and understanding in her eye. He flicked his gaze away and pulled a sarcastic little smile.

"I'll tell you right now, Mukuro. I think fairy tales are nonsense made for the likes of children, and I find it insulting that you would bother to _make one up_ for my situation."

The demoness laughed. "Oh, I assure you I was not the one who made it up. And if it is fake or if it is real, I believe there is a truth in it. Be that the power of love, devotion, or the possibility that maybe… everything lost is meant to be found again one day."

Tenseness and uncertainty coiled into him. There wasn't any circumstance possible to make Hiei blush because he just wasn't the type to get into such positions but if there was any moment in his life… well, this would have been the moment for his cheeks to turn even the slightest bit pink. He couldn't actually tell if his face betrayed him and was very glad Mukuro said nothing else.

Instead they stood in companionable silence; allowed the comfort of their solitary thoughts as the sun came out full circle.

* * *

Hiei was given back his old job. He reluctantly accepted it just to have something to keep him busy. Since the fall of Meian he'd never felt more alone. A couple months ago he would've been immensely glad... No Oora chatter, no Tora to take a part of him and disappear...

He would give anything to do it over again, he thought as he stood by the lakeside gazing down onto an object in his hand. It wasn't until that morning he'd even realized he still had it.

Tora's trinket she'd dropped all those weeks ago.

Amazingly he'd entirely forgotten to return it to her. If you really thought about it, that sheer fact may have ultimately been linked to their parting. Somehow. Lately Hiei's thinking pattern was different though, always steering him in one direction he didn't want to go.

He heaved a breath to release slowly through his nose.

Beyond doubt this trinket had seen better days too. He felt even more guilty as the thrice sectioned chain slipped from his fingers and broke even more as they hit the dirt. The pendant that was about the size of a bouncy ball had a few chips in it now and was severely cracked.

When Hiei placed his index finger on it the stone material broke. A little gasp slipped from his lips; he'd just destroyed the one memento he'd miraculously obtained from Tora.

His desolation turned to curiosity as he shifted his hand just a little to move the remains of stone dust about. A twinkle reached out for the light. Carefully he brushed aside the stone remnants and his mouth fell open.

_A tear stone... _he could only say in his head. He had never felt this melancholic.

And somehow he got the strange, impossible feeling that it was _his_. The very one he'd lost years back.

_I guess it is mine now... _he thought.

"Who says?"

His pulse jumped. By the gods, he must be going insane. Nevertheless, he half-heartedly turned his head and his world may have just shattered.

There stood a girl he could stare straight across a room and meet eyes with. A silk kimono of pure white and silvery pattern dressed her up from the knees. White wraps secured her bare feet and a red bow her waist. Her long, jet black hair drifted on the air, held by a golden bow at the nape of her slender neck. Scruffy bangs just barely concealed those eyes colored a dark, warm gold tinged with orange.

An exposed all seeing eye of blood red saw right through him from her forehead. With or without it she could reach right in him and feel the heart that would only beat for her.

"Tora..." he whispered, not noticing until then he'd turned around and moved a few steps toward her. He hesitated, trying to smother his hopes before they got too high. "Did... Koenma...?" His voice sounded small like a child's as he thought of all the possibilities. Sure he wanted to believe this was real, but did not want to fall victim to a lie. He just couldn't bare that.

"Koenma? No, he has no part in this," she replied coolly.

Hiei closed his eyes. He didn't no if he could handle this.

Bit by bit he opened his eyes and she was still there. And as the wind changed direction her sweet scent of sakuras alleviated him.

"Tora... tell me that you are real."

She moved a little closer and he saw the glisten of unshed tears in her eyes though her face lacked emotion. Until she smiled.

Hiei could stand it no more. He rushed to her and grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. His nerves went into a frenzy at her very real touch. It took everything he had not to hold and kiss her.

"How?"

Tora reached up and ran a careful hand through his hair. Her lip quivered before she shortly snapped it shut again. She looked down at their feet, a brittle smile on her face.

A breath of a laugh and then she said, "Hakkou said one of us should stay with you..."

Hiei blinked, at a loss.

Tora met his gaze and her smile broadened. "I said... 'I agree'. Our spirits, and my... my love for you breached the wall between the dimensions to give me a second chance. Will you take it with me?"

She wrapped her hand around his which held the tear stone and moved it to her chest over where her heart was. There was a solid beat resonating from it.

_I was meant to find you... _seemed to be the words attached to the gesture.

One long, gentle kiss to her lips, Hiei whispered, "I'm bound to you. I... I lo... lu..." He took a breath and almost blushed again -- at least he hoped he didn't.

Tora gave him a wry look as she watched him struggle with that deeply sentimental phrase only a demon of his nature _could _struggle so profusely with. She giggled softly. "The words don't matter, Hiei, my _akudou_..."

He glared.

With a smile, she went on, "I know how I feel for you. You feel the same, right?"

"Yes," he said in all seriousness. He wanted to make sure that she really knew... "You're... You're my heart."

Tora smiled. "And I surrender mine to you, an honor I hope you will appreciate," she told him teasingly, so glad that she was able to tell him.

He let out his own little sniff of laughter, trying not to smile too big. No words sounded more appealing to him.

They shared a passionate kiss, breathing in each other like each was the other's air, and took solace in the fact that from then on loneliness would have no place in their lives again.

_~fin_

* * *

AN: Have I gone insane or is this actually the conclusion!?

Yay, I finished this at long, long last! I'm so happy. XD This chapter I dedicate to _ArtistePars _who kindly reminded me this story still existed and that some people might appreciate to read the ending haha. Thanks ArtistePars! Hope the conclusion was up to par. ( Hope I tied up the loose ends too -nervous laugh- )

Niveus: Well! This is Niveus signing off and saying so long for now... I enjoyed writing about you Hiei! Hey, maybe Funimation will pick this up and animate a whole new chapter to YYH! You think!?

Hiei: No. I think you should keep your delusions to yourself.

Niveus: -twitch- You've been such a pleasure to be around, Hiei.

Hiei: Hn.


End file.
